-The Hindu Renowned trade union leader Dipankar Mukherjee (69), who passed away on Monday morning, was a brilliant parliamentarian with versatile capabilities. Elected to the Rajya Sabha in April 1994 from West Bengal as a Communist Party of India (Marxist) member, Mr. Mukherjee played an important role in intervening in all crucial economic and industrial policy-related issues during his 12-year-long parliamentary stint till 2006. Born in June 1943 in Kolkata, Mr. Mukherjee had...

-Live Mint It turns out that some state officials were using NRHM to enrich themselves The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was launched seven years ago with the goal of improving healthcare delivery to people in villages, especially the poor, through a generous infusion of federal funds. Local authorities were given a relatively free hand in deciding how to spend the money, with the Centre promising funds with no strings attached for...

-The Hindu From identification of fewer than targeted families to not lifting adequate ration supplies from godowns to non-submission of utilisation certificates, the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India has found several anomalies in the Public Distribution System and functioning of the Department of Food Supplies and Consumer Affairs of the Delhi Government. In its report for the year ended March 31, 2011, the CAG has stated that a...

-The Times of India Highlighting irregularities and delays in the issuing of BPL and ration cards, the CAG report has slammmed the food and supplies department for its functioning. The department’s failure to identify beneficiaries for its schemes, and under utilisation of foodgrains, kerosene oil and funds also find a mention in the report.  “It cannot be safely concluded that the food management system in Delhi was functioning in a transparent and...

-The Hindu Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's decency and politics of reconciliation have been his undoing Last fortnight I had cloistered myself away in the hills for a spot of reflection and writing. I had chosen to deprive myself of blessings like newspapers, the television and internet; telephone connectivity was at best erratic and in any case it was turned off most of the time. During one occasional moment of connectedness I got...