-PTI As many as 115 talukas in Maharashtra have been declared as drought-hit in the first phase by the state government for deficient rains and crop sowing. Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Patangrao Kadam told Reporters that talukas from among the 149 perennially drought-prone areas under the Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP) have also been included. "We declare drought if the rainfall is less than 50 per cent and sowing is less than 50...

UIDAI chief holds discussions with Kiran on project’s progress The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is hopeful of covering another 40 crore population under the Aadhar cards in the coming two years. UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani said the authority had taken steps to address the shortcomings like duplication and fake enrolments identified during the first phase and efforts were underway to develop Resident Database in all States. Mr. Nilekani told Reporters after...

-The Indian Express Three new reports by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India increased the heat on the embattled government on Friday. The statutory auditor’s report on coal block allocations, implementation of public-private partnership at the Delhi International Airport and the award of ultra mega power projects (UMPP), tabled in Parliament, accused the government of indulging in favouritism, irregularities in bidding processes, and causing massive losses to the exchequer. The...

-The Hindustan Times Indian taxpayers may have lost as much as Rs. 3.8 lakh crore in scams in the power, aviation and coal sectors over the past eight years, the country's state auditor said in reports tabled before Parliament. The Comptroller and Auditor General charged the government with allotting coalfields and land for power projects and Delhi’s airport to private firms at a fraction of the market price, bringing the corruption issue...

-PTI Officials of Uttarakhand Food Department today carried out raids on the premises of Divya Yog ashram of yoga guru Ramdev and collected samples of various ayurvedic medicines. The food department officials collected samples of honey, salt, gram floor among other things from the ashram during the nearly 3-hour raid. The raids were criticised by Ramdev who alleged the action was taken at the behest of the Centre. "This is war between the elite...