To invest the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) funds in a “fruitful” way, the state’s Department of Rural Development has decided to create a banana plantation over 1 lakh acres. The project will take off in July and will benefit around 1.5 lakh farmers, said Manoj Kumar Singh, the state’s Secretary of Rural Development and Horticulture and Food Processing. Singh was the Chief Guest of a “Mango Gosthi and...
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Government agency under scanner for child labour
Even as the government make efforts to prohibit child labour, an Uttar Pradesh government-owned urban development agency itself has come under scanner for hiring minors for whitewashing and cleaning work at a housing project. Several children, aged below 14 years, were Tuesday seen sprucing up the Kanshi Ram Awas Yojna - a housing scheme for economically weaker sections of the society - in Kalindikunj town. The renovation of the Kanshi Ram Awas...
More »Bihar plans health cards for 3.4 cr children under 14 years by Santosh Singh
Bihar is set to become the first state in the country to issue health cards to 3.4 crore children in the age group of 0-14 years. Besides offering OPD facilities and free medicines, the health card, which will be vaild for five years, will also facilitate specialised medical treatment in premier hospitals like AIIMS, PGIMER Chandigarh and SGPGI Lucknow. While some states already have health card schemes for school-going children in...
More »India angry, blames govt for corruption, inflation
Inflation is beginning to hurt seriously, corruption is at an all-time high and the government is not doing enough to tackle either problem. That is the way India's big cities feel on the two big issues dominating headlines in recent months, according to an 8-city survey done exclusively for TOI. Asked what impact rising prices have had on their household budgets, only 3% said it has had a small impact. About...
More »Threats shadow activists by Pallavi Singh & Maitreyee Handique
At least 10 RTI applicants have been killed over the past two years, with many others facing threats in their bid to expose corruption On a Republic Day when India celebrated 61 years of justice, equality and liberty, Amar Nath Pandey says he encountered the darkest moment of his life. In late evening on 26 January, a lone assailant leaped from the folds of darkness in the street outside his house in...
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