-The Indian Express Shimla: In a landmark judgement having wider implications on government-funded NGOs and organisations run on public contributions, the State Information Commission (SIC) on Friday ruled that all “substantially” financed NGOs (receiving over Rs 1 crore from state or government grants) are public authority under the Right to Information (RTI) Act and must make their annual ‘income and expenditures’ public. In the Commission’s order, passed by a two-member bench of...
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Rural India in poverty, Jairam Ramesh blames private Health sector
-The Indian Express Lamenting the virtual collapse of public Health system in major parts of the country, Union Minister Jairam Ramesh today said rural families are falling into debt trap due to expensive private Health sector. In large parts of the country, particularly in central and eastern India and in tribal belts, he said public Health system is "not abysmal but has collapsed". "Indebtedness caused by private Health sector is one of the...
More »Complan, Saffola and Kellogg’s under scanner for misleading public -Avimuktesh Bhardwaj
-Down to Earth FSSAI initiates prosecution against manufacturers of 19 leading food brands for making unscientific claims about their products Whether it’s Complan or Horlicks, they claim to make a child taller and smarter. But their promises are not based on any scientific data. Now such food products in the Indian market have come under the scanner of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for making false Health claims on the...
More »Keeper of grains-Jyotika Sood
-Down to Earth An ecologist has been guarding seeds of more than 750 rare rice varieties for over a decade Lit by a kerosene lamp, the two-room hut just outside a sleepy hamlet in Odisha’s Rayagada district can easily pass off as any other farmer’s house in this tribal region. Step inside it, and one is taken aback by the hundreds of earthen pots labelled with coded stickers stacked in a corner...
More »Soak pit revolution: two villages in Mewat treat their own wastewater -Alicia Cantoni
-Down to Earth The treated water recharges aquifers It is a common sight that greets those visiting the villages in the semi-arid Mewat district of Haryana—streams of waste water emerging from doorsteps of homes, running through streets, and forming puddles here and there. Village Rawli is one such village. It has no sanitation facilities or sewers. Children play in these puddles while their parents watch them without any sign of concern. They...
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