The UPA government has given in to the Opposition’s demand to immediately table the Liberhan Commission report in Parliament. To this end, a meeting of the Union Cabinet was convened on Tuesday morning to approve the Action Taken Report (ATR) that will be tabled along with the Liberhan Commission report. The decision was taken after consultations with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is in Washington. The government was initially reluctant...

Four disturbing trends that need tackling are food adulteration, drug counterfeiting, environmental degradation and corruption The strong and sustained growth of the Indian economy over the last 17-18 years has delivered many very creditable outcomes for its people at large. While a lot more needs to be done on a sustained basis for many more decades if the growth has to be truly inclusive for all Indians, this should not...

INDIA’S achievement in setting up a huge structure of local self-government institutions has won worldwide recognition and respect. However, the massive numbers of rural self-government or panchayat raj representatives should not be allowed to obscure the reality of some very important weaknesses in our panchayat raj institutions. True, some states have notable achievements to their credit in this respect, but taking an overview of the national situation it can be...

Electromagnetic radiation emanating from mobile handsets has spoilt the growth of agricultural crops and plants across northern Indian states, a recent study has said. The study - done by scientists at the Punjab University of Chandigarh - states that electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation from mobile phones have choked seeds, affected germination and early growth. This was, interestingly, the first such study analyzing the impact of EMF on seeds. Scientists germinated...

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is confident that the NREGS is his best bet to offset the drought but many grassroots activists are unsure of the scheme’s effectiveness, especially after some recent amendments. While the drought has spread to 246 districts, a heated debate rages on the poor peoples’ entitlements versus rural asset formation, even though in theory the two positions appear complementary. 14 organisations throughout the country are up in arms...