-The Hindu   A Central team of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) has praised the implementation of various health care and nutrition schemes in Rajasthan and expressed hope that the constant decline in infant and maternal mortality rates would help improve the status of health indicators in the State. The 12-member team, divided into two sub-groups, visited Chittorgarh and Barmer districts and reviewed the progress of initiatives taken under the NRHM, mid-day...

Opposes changes in bid norms, extra land acquisition and move to allow bidders to develop more than one UMPP The government’s auditor has come down hard on irregularities in the government’s policy on so-called ultra mega power projects, or UMPPs. The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), parts of which have been seen by Mint, is with the power ministry for its comment, and could cause further embarrassment...

Government proposes to provide basic insurance coverage to an estimated 43 crore unorganized workers Furthering the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s objective of inclusive growth, the National Advisory Council (NAC) headed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi will discuss ways of bringing India’s unorganized workers under the social security net in its meeting on 29 November. A new NAC working group on social security is working on draft recommendations that will seek to...

-The Hindu   Aruna Roy writes to PM The National Campaign for Peoples' Right to Information (NCPRI) has sought a new provision in the government's draft Citizen's Right to Grievances Redress Bill, 2011, to compensate a complainant for entitlements wrongly denied or delayed. The government's draft empowers the independent appellate authority to penalise for denial or delay in entitlements but does not provide for compensating a complainant. Rather than have the Grievance Redress as part...

-The Indian Express   Bihar is ready with the draft for a new Lokayukta Bill, which it plans to finalise by November 26 before getting it passed in the winter session of the Assembly. It is the second state, after Uttarakhand, to have prepared or reworked its Lokayukta laws before the Centre haspassed a Lokpal Bill. Unlike the Bihar Lokayukta Act, 1973, the new law will bring the chief minister under the Lokayukta’s...