Celebrated yoga guru Baba Ramdev and his Haridwar trusts have been booked by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for foreign exchange violations.

A case has been registered by the ED on the basis of a report from the RBI and suspicious financial transaction inputs from abroad.

The ED had earlier found irregularities in foreign remittances and fund flows and proceeded with their investigations under the provisions of FEMA.

They approached authorities in the UK concerning the island of Little Cumbrae in Scotland that serves as Ramdev's overseas base and which was 'gifted' to Ramdev by a couple who are his followers. The Directorate also approached officials on the island nation of Madagascar.

The flow of money and transactions through three trusts floated by Ramdev were checked by the Directorate, leading to the probe.

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The Supreme Court has ordered Delhi's private hospitals, built on subsidised government land, to provide free treatment to the poor.

City hospitals have been ordered to reserve 25 percent of their out-patient department capacity and 10 percent of beds at the indoor level for the free treatment of the poor.

Some 37 hospitals were granted land by the government at concessional rates, of which 27 have been providing free treatment to poor patients.

Other hospitals resisted and challenged the order, but the Bench dismissed the plea and held fast, saying the hospitals could no longer 'wriggle out' of their responsibility to treat the poor free of cost.

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Sports Minister Ajay Maken directly questioned why the Board of Control For Cricket in India (BCCI) is fighting his proposal that demands greater transparency from sports bodies.

Mr Maken says he will not budge on his belief that the BCCI must be subject to the Right to Information Act (RTI), that would allow the public access to its financial records.

Maken also said if India had a bill such as the one he just proposed to the union cabinet, the expensive, expansive Commonwealth Games scam could have been avoided.

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According to the new Global Liveability Survey from the Economic Intelligence Unit, Melbourne has been named the world's most liveable city, overtaking Vancouver, Canada. The annual survey assessed living conditions in 140 global cities.

Vancouver that topped the survey since 2002, toppled to third place behind Vienna this year. Australia with its low population density and relatively low crime rate continues to supply some of the world's most liveable cities. Sydney was at 6th rank, while Perth and Adelaide ranked 8th and 9th on the list.

India's commercial capital Mumbai is ranked 116th, one place up from its previous year's ranking.

The worst places to live in were Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, Bangladesh's Dhaka and Harare, Zimbabwe.

The cities were gauged on political and social stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

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The civil society movement that forced parliament to support activist Anna Hazare's demand for tougher anti-corruption legislation, is being considered a new force in Indian politics.

Hazare ended his 13-day hunger strike in Delhi, acknowledging it was the support of the tens of thousands of people across the country and indeed abroad, that powered the success of his crusade.

Hazare told followers 'the people's parliament is bigger than Delhi's parliament' even as domestic media hailed it as a 'people's victory'.

Political analysts say the campaign marks a turning point in Indian democracy, and the end of paternalistic government. It showed that the political class was largely out of touch with the public's frustration and concern over deep-seated corruption.

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