-The Economic Times It was in the mid-eighties that former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi said if the Centre released a rupee for the Poor, only 15 paisa reached them. Decades later, not much has changed. With leakages, delays, and uneven implementation of welfare schemes like NREGA, blunting benefits to the Poor, the rural development ministry is proposing to put in place a system to assess the effectiveness of the schemes even...

-The Telegraph Jharkhand High Court today ruled out return of land acquired by the state government in Nagri way back in 1957-58, even as it reproached public representatives for “blowing the issue out of proportion and misguiding the Poor and illiterate”. The court also asked the government to translate all earlier court orders into Hindi and regional languages for circulation among the villagers so that they understood the issue better. “Land acquired cannot...

-The Telegraph The Poor rainfall performance is likely to impact India’s rice yield this year, a senior agrometeorology scientist said today amid growing concerns over the rainfall deficit persisting 45 days into the monsoon season. Rainfall activity over the past week has reduced India’s land area under rain stress from 82 per cent on July 7 to 59 per cent today, but the cumulative rainfall is still 21 per cent below normal,...

-The Times of India CHENNAI: Where will the nuclear waste from the Kudankulam nuclear power plant be kept and what are the Centre's plans to process the spent fuel to ensure that it does not damage the environment? This is what the Madras high court, hearing a batch of public interest petitions on the nuclear plant, wants to know from the Centre. But in the absence of the additional solicitor-general (ASG) of...

-Live Mint Uttar Pradesh emerges as the state having the worst healthcare indicators in the country Safe child deliveries, the use of contraceptives, and post-natal care for mothers are still largely alien concepts in India’s Poorest states, a government survey has found. Uttar Pradesh (UP) emerged as the state having the worst health indicators in the country. The Annual Health Survey (2010-11) to assess the impact of the government’s flagship health programme, the National...