-The Hindu   In any reasonable reckoning, the outcome of the 17th meeting of the Committee of Parties (COP) of the United Framework Convention on Climate Change at Durban was a triumph for European climate diplomacy, placing it firmly once again in the position of a global climate leader. In the run-up to Durban, Europe had offered to support a second commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol in exchange for a “road...

-IANS   Concerned over the poor 11 percent fund utilisation of the Rahul Gandhi-driven Bundelkhand package worth Rs.7,000 crore, the central government will review its performance Monday.   Following Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi's intervention, the central government had sanctioned Rs.7,000 crore package two years ago for development of the backward Bundelkhand region, spread across Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.   Even as politics hots up in the run up to the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections...

-The Daily Bhaskar   Sarpanchs and secretaries in Damoh, on Friday, have threatened to stall work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) protesting administration's decision to seek details via text messaging of the daily work being undertaken. The sarpanchs have said this was unjustified as it would incur additional financial burden. They added as many of them were not tech-savvy, they would not know how to message. However, district...

-The Hindustan Times   Nearly 20,000 Right to Information (RTI) appeals concerning central ministries are waiting to be disposed but there just aren't enough hands to do the job. Chief central information commissioner Satyananda Mishra has written at least two letters to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) asking for the five vacancies to the post of chief information commissioner be filled up, but to no avail. The RTI Act has sanctioned 10 information...

Two ministries concerned with rural development are at loggerheads over running of the government's flagship scheme- the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The agriculture ministry is protesting the way the Rs 40, 000 crore programme is being executed, saying it has increased the burden on agriculture, which is showing just about two percent growth now.   "State-level studies by the Agro Economic Research Centres on wage rate, food security...