Nearly 100 days after the nondescript Tembhali in Nandurbar district was swamped with promises of development, nothing has changed for the better in the tribal village. For over a week in September, the tribal village basked in public and official attention. Prime minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi landed to launch the ambitious Unique Identity (UID) card — Aadhaar — project amid great fanfare. Great promises to improve the...

The Centre today announced doubling of funds allocation under a special plan for Bihar to Rs 2,000 crore for the current fiscal, a move that should please Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who has been seeking greater central assistance. Effectively, the increase in central allocation would mean that the NDA-ruled state can spend extra Rs 1,000 crore on power, roads and irrigation within the three months ending March 31, 2011. The decision to...

Confusion prevails here over implementing the Right to Education (RTE) Act and activists are accusing private school managements of back-pedalling on flimsy grounds for fear of losing their elitist tags. This has delayed the admission process in various city schools. The Chandigarh administration, the private schools association, social activists and parents are still debating the provisions of the RTE Act. There has been no consensus so far. The RTE Act makes it...

It came as a rude shock for parents of economically weaker sections (EWS) whose wards were denied admission under the Right to Education Act, which guarantees 25% reservation in schools at entry level. Most schools don't seem inclined to implement the provisions of the RTE Act as the state government has failed to frame rules in this regard. A few schools are not even accepting the forms under this category,...

Nearing the four crore mark in providing jobs under MGNREGA , re-launching the Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas scheme and reinforcing social audit in programmes on complaints of irregularities were the foremost tasks of the rural development ministry in 2010. While 3.9 crore households were provided employment, the share of women beneficiaries under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act went up to 51 per cent, with...