The opening and closing ceremonies received wide acclaim but left many citizens like me a bit terrified and confused. Now that the terms of inquiry into the conduct of the Commonwealth Games have been extended, let us hope that the process of probe will be more open than was decision-making for the CWG. Let us also hope that the review will cover the opening and closing ceremonies as well, both in...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Shortage of migrant labour but Punjab’s own farm hands are 48% underutilised, says study by Amrita Chaudhry
Economists’ report says tractors are used for just 178 hrs a year and electric motors are overused That Punjab faces an acute labour shortage each paddy season is a known and established fact. But not many know that 48.66 per cent of the total ‘family labour’ — members of a farmer’s family — available for agriculture remains underutilised in the state. A study of the resources employed in Punjab agriculture throws up...
More »Nikhil Dey, Convener of the National Campaign for People's Right to Information interviewed by Bharat Dogra
Nikhil Dey, convener of the National Campaign for People's Right to Information, has been in the forefront of the RTI movement. He speaks to Bharat Dogra about the achievements of the RTI and the challenges ahead: How do you assess the overall impact of the RTI? Sceptics say corruption is increasing more than even before. What I can assure them is corruption would have been much higher without the RTI. In schemes...
More »Centre cautioned against terms on rural job scheme
The Centre should not impose conditions on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme which might block the project's implementation in the State, West Bengal Rural Development Minister Anisur Rahman said here on Tuesday. Talking to reporters at the Secretariat after a meeting with two senior officials of the Union Rural Development Ministry, he said, “No such conditions should be imposed due to which the rural poor are denied the...
More »India’s CW Games: Not so great for the poor
In the long speeches made at the opening ceremony of the CW games, every important individual, department or institution that made a contribution, was acknowledged. Did anyone hear a word about the workers who made these world-class games possible? Maybe it was just a slip or maybe it was not considered necessary. Anyway, the workers were not there for the speeches, having been driven out of the capital just a...
More »