-The Hindu Environment Ministry and inland waterways body differed on need for clearances India’s longest waterway project, one terminal of which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this week, was made possible only after a high-power Committee of Ministers and senior officials from multiple Ministries overruled the recommendations of experts appointed by the Environment Ministry. The latter had recommended public consultations and a full-fledged environment clearance, documents made available through...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The central Government scheme to reimburse employers in the private sector 50% wages of the last 14 weeks of maternity leave will be funded by a Rs 400 crore allocation and is intended to counter the perception that extended maternity leave is deterring female employment. There will be a wage ceiling of Rs 15,000 a month for eligible women. On the status of the proposal, the...

-Tribune News Service RTI reply indicates 1.5 times jump in profit of insurers in a year Hisar: Insurance companies across the country earned a whopping Rs 15,795 crore as profit in two years from the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), according to a reply received under the Right to Information Act. While the farmers’ wait for increase in income continues, the profit of insurance firms increased by one-and-a-half times in just one...

-The Telegraph Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India sees no science in the session, just industry promotion The global food-maker Nestle cancelled a “scientific session” on infant formulas it planned to host for paediatricians in New Delhi on Friday after speakers declined invitations amid concerns the meeting would violate laws on infant food substitutes. Two paediatricians invited to speak at the session — titled “Infant formulas: Paediatricians dilemma” — informed the company they would...

-IndiaSpend.com Baloda Bazar, Kabirdham (Kawardha), Rajnandgaon, Mahasamund, Kanker (Chhattisgarh): “I’ll ask them to give me a job first and then think about giving my vote,” said 28-year-old Kekti Verma, holding back her tears. “I have three girls, the eldest one is 10 and youngest four. I haven’t got any help till date from the Government.” Kekti is the widow of Dhal Singh Verma, a two-acre paddy farmer in Sararidih in Baloda...