-The Business Standard Govt should not explore unworkable solutions The petroleum ministry’s “single kitchen” concept for new consumers of liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, is a classic case of using a flawed solution to compensate for policy distortions in the pricing of petroleum products. The norm of allowing one LPG connection per household with one kitchen may look good on paper but it is hardly a foolproof mechanism to curb the misuse...

-The Hindustan Times MPs, who already get R5 crore each to develop their constituencies, suddenly have more funds to dip into. The government has made available to them money under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), its flagship livelihood programme. The statistics and programme implementation ministry, which monitors the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS), has decided to converge the fund with MGNREGA after representations from MPs,...

-The Times of India   Thousands of dalits and tribals took to streets in Sonbhadra on Sunday to protest against the illegal mining taking place in the district. The immediate cause of the protest was the recent mining accident which left over 10 labourers dead. The protesters organised a march and gheraoed the local police station.  They also handed over a memorandum to the district administration. Addressed to the governor, the memorandum demanded...

Maoist leader Kishan is dead but he has left behind a “ghost village” that even the new Bengal government has been unable to breathe back to life. The story of Salpatra, a village of mostly Muslim families near Jhargram town, is not one of usual black-and-white administrative inaction but of how acts of unspeakable brutality and an element of political mistrust can keep empty an entire village not more than 150km...

Nine gram sewaks have committed suicide in past one year due to work stress Gram sewaks in Maharashtra have refused to give in to the high-handedness of the administration for the implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) so that it can be projected as a success. Instead, they have decided to approach the high court to press for their demands like formation of a separate independent agency for the...