“No element of truth in the entire malicious campaign” Civil society member on the joint drafting committee on the Lokpal Bill, Arvind Kejriwal, on Thursday ruled out the resignation of co-chairman Shanti Bhushan from the panel in the wake of the Noida farm plot allotment issue. He said they would remain focussed on drafting an effective Lokpal Bill. “There is no element of truth in the entire malicious campaign,” Mr. Kejriwal...

The state government on Wednesday constituted a group of ministers to examine the current system for implementation of MGNREGS in the state and suggest suitable modifications to protect the interests of rural poor labourers, apart from considering other demands of the field functionaries. Ministers who are part of the GoM include D Manikya Varaprasada Rao (rural development), V Sunitha Laxma Reddy (pensions & women development), Vatti Vasant Kumar (tourism), B Satyanarayana...

Taking on board citizens' concerns over corruption and quality of governance, the 12th Five Year Plan proposes re-designing of government programmes even as it targets 9-9.5% economic growth with focus on health and education. Aiming at 100% adult literacy, the next Plan (2012-17) proposes to increase expenditure on health from 1.3% to at least 2-2.5% of GDP. The full Planning Commission meeting today presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was given...

The Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) report on the compact disc submitted by the former Law Minister and senior Supreme Court lawyer, Shanti Bhushan, to the Delhi Police has indicated that the conversation has not been tampered with. The case has now been transferred to the Special Cell for further investigations. While police officers remained tight-lipped over the findings of the CFSL/Central Bureau of Investigation (New Delhi) report, sources said it...

State will observe April 25 as Anti-Endosulfan Day Mass pledge in all districts on Monday 81 countries have banned Endosulfan The Cabinet on Wednesday decided to send an all-party delegation to the Centre to press for India's support to the proposal for global ban on Endosulfan at the conference of parties of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. Health Minister P.K. Sreemathy will head the delegation which will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh...