The Samanda community and rural development block has achieved the unique distinction of 99.97 person days per household and become the first in the state to provide 100 man days for each registered household under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). As many as 149 out of 151 village employment councils achieved the target. Samanda is near Williamnagar, the district headquarters of East Garo Hills, and is about 325km from...

Itself the outcome of a bottom-up movement, the Jan Lokpal bill ironically proposes a centralised framework against graft. Without checks and balances. There was never any doubt that India needs a strong Lokpal Act. The protest has paved the way for its enactment. With the exultation over the anti-corruption campaign’s ‘victory’ quieting down, it’s time to take stock. Nuanced arguments—and indeed substance—have to recover lost ground to take the discourse...

Social activist Anna Hazare's hunger strike in New Delhi demanding changes in the anti-corruption Lokpal Bill entered the second day on Wednesday. The anti-corruption campaign began has now been joined by thousands of people with more than 150 people joining Hazare’s fast-onto-death at the Jantar Mantar. Almost 5,000 people from all walks of life have gathered at Jantar Mantar to show their support for Hazare. Social activists and people in 400...

Anna Hazare's followers have made it clear that political leaders are not welcomed to join the anti-corruption campaign launched by the veteran social activist and Gandhian. Hazare's supporters stopped two political leaders - Uma Bharti and Om Prakash Chautala - from entering the dharna venue at New Delhi's Janatar Mantar on Wednesday. Both Uma Bharti and Chautala, who had come to meet Hazare, were heckled and forced to leave the area.   Hazare,...

The population of India’s commercial capital is growing very slowly in the suburbs while it is shrinking in the old city, the preliminary census data on Maharashtra released on Friday shows. Meanwhile, the population of adjoining Thane district has grown explosively at 35.9% between 2001 and 2011, as expensive real estate in the city has pushed people to satellite towns such as Kalyan and Vashi in this district. The shift in people...