-Livemint.com Ministries handling drinking water and sanitation, rural development, land resources, and urban development asked to take up an integrated action plan New Delhi: Streamlining measures to tackle the drought in the country, the centre directed on Monday different ministries to release additional funds to states. CABinet secretary P.K. Sinha directed the ministries—drinking water and sanitation, rural development, land resources and urban development—to take up an integrated action plan for optimally using...

-Hindustan Times The social justice and empowerment ministry has decided to go ahead with a bill which seeks to provide recognition to transgenders and protect their rights despite other ministries “failing” to send their comments on it during the inter-ministerial consultation process. It has sent the draft bill on the ‘Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2016’ to the law ministry for finalisation before it is sent to the CABinet for approval. “The draft...

-PTI London: The February ruling came in the wake of a U.S. complaint before the global trade body alleging discrimination against American firms. India will appeal against WTO panel’s ruling that the country’s power purchase agreements with solar firms were “inconsistent” with international norms, in the next few days. The February ruling came in the wake of a U.S. complaint before the global trade body alleging discrimination against American firms. “Next few days,” said...

-The Indian Express The data for 10 drought-hit states show that a total of 1.52 crore people got employment under MGNREGA in the financial year ending March 31, 2015. For states hit with severe drought, the latest decision of the Ministry of Rural Development to continue providing 150 days of employment under MGNREGA may come as a much-needed succour. However, data shows that in 2015-16 of the households that were provided...

-The Hindu In a much-needed measure to keep the consumption of chewing tobacco under check, the Delhi government has extended by a year the ban on the sale, purchase and storage of all forms of chewable tobacco — scented, flavoured and mixed — sold in forms such as gutka, pan masala, khaini and zarda. The extension of the ban has come after the previous notification expired recently. In 2012, a few...