In a path-breaking measure, which could become an issue of discussion in some quarters, the Union government has decided to involve missionary groups of various hues in taking its programmes to the people in areas affected by Naxalite activities. Apart from giving the green signal to engage Ramakrishna Mission Ashram in Narainpur district in Chhattisgarh, which the Communist Party of India (Maoist) claims to be a liberated zone, Union Minister of...

-CNN-IBN   The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken BSP MLA Ram Prasad Jaiswal into custody in connection with the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam. Jaiswal was taken into custody after the CBI interrogated him in two separate cases related to financial irregularities in the procurement of information material. Jaiswal was under scrutiny for the supply of construction material and labour to ANM training centres in Lucknow and adjacent districts under the...

-Governance Now   Child malnutrition may have fallen in recent years but 42 percent of the children under the age of five are underweight, according to the Hunger and Malnutrition survey conducted by Naandi Foundation. A report with the survey findings says that the growth of nearly 60 percent children is stunted. This has happened despite the economy growing at more than seven percent since the last eight years. The survey collected data...

-The Indian Express   While Madhya Pradesh government is making all efforts to make the 'Surya Namaskar' exercise on Swami Vivekanand's birthday here tomorrow, a world record, Muslim leaders have opposed the move by issuing a fatwa against it. Leaders of the minority community have termed the move as un-Islamic and equated it with idol-worship, which is prohibited in Islam. They also issued a fatwa in this regard on Tuesday which was also...

Agrarian distress and growing awareness among farmers, tired of poll-time rhetoric and freebies, may make it tougher for political parties to woo this large electorate with worn-out promises in the upcoming assembly polls.  Ahead of elections in five states, including in Uttar Pradesh, the country's most populous and politically-critical state, many farmers say they are ready to pay market rates for power and other inputs provided there is reliable supply.  Swarn Singh,...