Union minister for rural development Jairam Ramesh today frowned upon the state government and demanded greater reliability on the question of funds use after enduring a bumpy ride to a Dumka village, which to his surprise lacked road connectivity. Ramesh, who arrived in Dumka from Calcutta this morning, met self-help groups (SHGs) engaged in tussar silk production at Dhaka village, 30km from the district headquarters, in rebel-hit Shikaripara block. The minister appreciated...

Celebrities readily accept government's offer to enter Rajya Sabha as 'nominated' members. But when it comes to attending House proceedings, they - barring a couple of them - prefer to keep themselves away from the very process which shapes country's fate. Poor attendance records of the celebrities including filmmakers, actors and singers during Parliamentary sessions present a grim picture of the practice of nominating those who are 'active' in their respective...

Even as 2011-12 saw Union ministers going on an unprecedented number of foreign trips, the MEA has refused clearance on several grounds for at least 39 proposed trips by 25 Union ministers since June 2009. Some of them are no longer ministers. All these trips, barring one, fell in the official category. The ministers had proposed to travel to destinations such as the US, UK, France, Italy, Japan, Australia and South Africa,...

Over 250 activists, academics, intellectuals and democratic institutions have written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh demanding that medical attention be immediately provided to Adivasi school teacher, Soni Sori, who is currently in custody in Raipur Central Jail. NAC members Aruna Roy, Jean Dreze and Harsh Mander, poet Meena Kandaswamy and film-maker Anand Patwardhan are amongst the signatories to the letter. The text of the open letter...

The metropolis could have had five new police stations had the government accepted the recommendation of a committee on VIP security cover. A high-ranking IPS officer told TOI on Friday that the committee had recommended the reduction or withdrawal of the security cover of leading politicians. "But shockingly , chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and home minister R R Patil have rejected the recommendation for obvious political reasons," he said. Ironically, the...