After 4,000 deaths and 19,000 victims over seven years, encephalitis has made it to the election manifestoes of most parties in Uttar Pradesh in 2012. On ground zero in eastern Uttar Pradesh, however, it is still to figure in the candidates’ campaign. Voters are angry and frustrated but say they are not surprised. Some are determined not to vote at all on February 8 and 11, when the seats in these...

-The Business Standard   The agriculture minister is right about food security Among the large number of disparagers of the government’s proposed food security law, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has been the most relentless, and also among the most outspoken. His latest salvo, expressing misgivings about its smooth implementation without investing more on boosting food production, is as relevant as the objections he had raised earlier concerning its impact on the already fragile...

-PTI   The CPI(M) today asked the Manmohan Singh government whether it had a "dual policy" on FDI in the retail sector.  "In Parliament the Centre said it would not move forward in FDI till a consensus evolved through discussions. In Davos Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma told a Walmart representative that it had only pressed the pause button. Has the Centre a double policy on FDI in retail?" CPI(M) Politburo member Brinda...

Home ministry accepts UIDAI’s biometrics; in case of overlap, National Population Register will prevail The Aadhaar project, which has been in the eye of a storm for its dispute with the home ministry’s National Population Register (NPR), received a shot in the arm on Friday, with the Cabinet Committee on Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) extending its mandate to collect biometrics for a total of 600 million residents of the...

-The Times of India   Struggling to stay relevant amid signs of growing popular indifference, Team Anna chose Republic Day to advocate radical ideas like putting gram sabhas above the Lok Sabha and establishing a referendum commission along the lines of Election Commission.  In a video message, activist Anna Hazare also praised the Lokayukta bill of Uttarakhand, in what may be seen as a surrogate campaign for the BJP in the state. He...