-BBC At least 17 people have died after drinking tainted home-made alcohol over the weekend in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, officials say. More than 20 people are also being treated in hospital in the state's Krishna district. Deaths from illicit alcohol are not uncommon in India, as licensed liquor is often too expensive for the poor. In December, at least 169 people died after drinking toxic alcohol in West Bengal state. Protests The...

-The Times of India   Non-payment of wages in time under MGNREGA, rampant corruption at different levels, effectiveness of e-Shakti project, assistance for development from Finance Commission, non-issuance of identity cards to the PRI's elected representatives, formation of sub-committees in panchayats and use of Right to Information were some of the issues that cropped up during the five-day training programme for the office bearers of the three-tier panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) held...

Employment Guarantee Scheme experts in the state have slammed Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar’s proposal of giving a break of three months to the scheme during the farming season every year. Activists claimed that the Pawar’s own state has been implementing this suggestions for years now. The proposal also has been termed as ‘pro-capitalist and pro- industrialist’ by critics. Pawar, in his letter to the prime minister, had suggested that since the...

-IANS   Concerned over the poor 11 percent fund utilisation of the Rahul Gandhi-driven Bundelkhand package worth Rs.7,000 crore, the central government will review its performance Monday.   Following Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi's intervention, the central government had sanctioned Rs.7,000 crore package two years ago for development of the backward Bundelkhand region, spread across Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.   Even as politics hots up in the run up to the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections...

-The Hindu   A Fast Track Sessions Court here on Friday acquitted 11 of the 14 persons arrested from Kota, Baran and Jodhpur in the aftermath of the May 2008 Jaipur serial blasts. The court did not find any evidence that could connect the accused with the alleged crime. The Anti-Terrorism Squad of Rajasthan police had claimed that all the accused, who it said were members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of...