As far as natural resources like minerals, land and water are concerned, Jharkhand is among the richest States of India. Yet, its people are among the poorest. Mind you, almost 30 per cent of them are tribal. Out of the total population of 288.46 lakhs, 223.1 lakhs live in rural areas and only 65.36 lakhs are urban dwellers. Even a cursory glance is sufficient to convince that most of the...

HIV/AIDS screenings on job applicants and existing employees may be banned under a proposed policy that says the infection should in no way affect employment. The National Policy on HIV/AIDS and Work Place, crafted by the Union labour ministry with the International Labour Organisation’s assistance, will form part of the HIV bill being drawn up by the health ministry. The bill seeks to make employers liable for discrimination against staff with...

In the Indian reform story, policies on land have been the least reformed one, said Ratan Tata on Monday. The Chairman of the Tata Group, whose company Tata Motors had to shift the production base for its Nano car from Singur in West Bengal to Sanand in Gujarat following continuous protests over land acquisition for the project, said political leaders should be able to strike the right balance in deciding...

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State government is gearing up to launch its own urban employment guarantee programme to provide 100 days of work a year to every poor family living in the Corporation and municipal areas. The thrust of the programme, to be implemented through the local self-government institutions, will be on the services sector and infrastructure development. Official sources told The Hindu here that flexibility would be the hallmark of the programme, which...

There is every sign that India is launching into a period of rapid urbanisation. In the next 30 years, an additional 350 million people will have to be accommodated in our existing towns as well as in brand new urban spaces. Given our inability to cater to even the existing urban population, there are serious concerns about our ability to deal with the influx. Are we entering a world of...