The state cabinet which met here on Tuesday approved the Right to Service (RTS) Act and the Chief Minister Food Security Scheme (CMFSS). According to sources in the state cabinet, the RTS Act enables a citizen right to service within a stipulated period taking away the right of the government employees to sit on files related to services of the citizens. The sources said under the Mukhyamantri Khadya Suraksha Yojana i.e. CMFSS,...

Member, Central Employment Guarantee Council, Sanjay Dixit has asked the Centre to stop release of MGNREGS funds to district Sonbhadra. He also demanded that a probe by a Central agency be set up into the charges of diversion of funds. Talking to mediapersons on Friday, Dixit alleged that "the state government, in a well-calculated move, is trying to cover the corruption trail in Sonbhadra, which is alarming". The funds must be...

The sight of a wiry, sweating man, straining as he pulls a rickshaw by hand is a frequent sight in Calcutta despite India's attempts to consign the practice to history. The gentle tinkling of its traditional bell sounds delightful amidst the cacophony of Calcutta traffic - with its ever increasing numbers of cars, taxis, lorries and motorbikes, all seeming to compete to blare their horns loudest and longest. But turn around and...

There was a lot of apprehension before budget day regarding what the Union finance minister will do to reduce the deficit. Will he roll back the tax concessions implemented a couple of years ago as part of a fiscal stimulus package? Will he announce populist social sector spending in view of the major state polls coming up this year? Will he be too timid and not take any bold steps...

The CPM’s top leadership has advised comrades in poll-bound Bengal to focus on corruption and price rise and how the Centre was playing with the “livelihood of the poor” but warned against targeting Mamata Banerjee personally. “Too much attack” on the rival could prove counterproductive, a top leader said. The decision to concentrate on graft and price rise came as the CPM politburo and central committee met in New Delhi today. Sources...