-The Economic Times BANGALORE: It is one of the most expensive and ambitious projects in India's technology history connecting 2,50,000 gram panchayats in the country with a fibre optic network. It would need Rs 21,000 crore and as it is being planned now, the project needs exceptional project management, cutting-edge technology, and close coordination between several government agencies. While the government is preparing to start the project in the next two months,...

-The Telegraph Congress leaders today pleaded with finance minister P. Chidambaram to not compromise on social sector schemes despite constraints of a sliding economy as the party has to face a series of polls this year followed by the general election in 2014. At the annual pre-budget consultation with the party, Chidambaram explained the difficulties created by slow domestic growth and continuing global recession while admitting the importance of sustaining social sector...

-Kashmir Times If psychologist Ashis Nandy had planned to ignite a potentially ugly controversy at the Jaipur Literary Festival, he couldn't have done better than by insinuating intimate links between corruption and Dalits, Adivasis and Other Backward Classes. After warning that he was about to make a "very undignified" and "almost vulgar" statement, "which will shock you", Nandy said: "It is a fact that most of the corrupt come from the...

-The Hindu Authorities have not come clear on the subsidy money and the time required for processing Hyderabad: The ongoing process of linking Aadhaar card and bank account with LPG gas connections is throwing up questions that defy answers. While the authorities point out that the subsidy money will be credited to the customer’s bank accounts directly, the question as to how much money will be returned and the time required for...

-The United Nations The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today called on countries to boost efforts to promote agroforestry, a practice involving the combination of trees with crop or livestock production, stressing it can help millions of people escape poverty and prevent environmental degradation, making it crucial to ensure food security in the future. “In many countries the potential of agroforestry to enrich farmers, communities and industry has not been...