-The Hindu An anthology of independent evaluations of MGNREGA shows that it has provided income security, improved health, narrowed the gender gap and created useful assets   In the midst of the debates that prevail in this country over the feasibility of the world’s largest public works programme, the MGNREGA Sameeksha — an anthology of independent research studies and analysis on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, from 2006-2012 — is...

-IANS LUCKNOW: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday conducted raids in Uttar Pradesh as well as Gujarat in connection with the probe into embezzling of funds from the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). Raids were conducted in Ghaziabad, Lucknow and Agra as well as in Vaapi, Gujarat, CBI sources said. The action, seen as knee-jerk, comes after a severe rap by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on Wednesday...

-The Times of India KOLKATA: Call it fuel austerity. For the first time, the principal secretaries of 18 departments of the state government — including chief secretary Samar Ghosh — will tour five districts in a bus rather than hired cars. This will not only save a huge amount of fuel cost, the government won't have to pay for the accommodation of the drivers and other related expenses. The secretaries will not,...

-The Indian Express A little over 11 years ago, when the Congress defeated the Asom Gana Parishad and Tarun Gogoi took over as chief minister of Assam, people had their doubts. Would this man who had spent most of his political career since 1971 as a Lok Sabha member be able to run this state? The state, with its unique tangle of ethnicity and politics, has, after all, always been a...

-The Hindu There is at last some clarity on the politics of the anti-corruption movements. Baba Ramdev’s dramatic call for Congress- hatao and the ‘political turn’ of the Anna movement have confirmed that a movement aimed at rooting out corruption cannot defer a direct encounter with party politics for very long. The manner in which both decisions were announced left something to be desired. The announcement by ‘Team Anna’ invited serious...