-The Telegraph Shillong: The Union cabinet today approved the implementation of a "comprehensive telecom development plan" for the Northeast where thousands of uncovered villages would be connected. The proposal entails an estimated expenditure of Rs 5,336.18 crore and the plan will be funded through the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF). "The USOF would fund capital expenditure (Capex) and operational expenditure (Opex) net of revenue for a period of five years," an official communiqué...

-The Business Standard Forest Rights Act being reinterpreted to avoid amendment Led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is discussing possible ways to do away with the mandatory requirement of securing consent from tribal gram sabhas (village councils) before cutting down their forests for industrial purposes. The deliberations, on among various ministries, are for zeroing in on such a way that the requirement is removed without...

-The Business Standard   The Jan Dhan Yojana has a lot of gaps to fill The NDAs financial inclusion programme, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, targets poor households unlike similar schemes of the UPA, which focussed on villages. The scheme targets rural and urban unbanked households. That said, the scheme too has its own share of flaws. Misplaced enthusiasm A chat with poor casual workers after the launch of the Yojana gave the impression that...

-PTI   HRD minister Smriti Irani on Sunday favoured strong linkages between institutes of higher learning and rural India for the development of villages and suggested that they should start courses on rural development. She said her ministry would also set up "cell" to see that educational institutions were engaged in programmes aimed at development of rural India. "Our aim in the coming five years is that all technical institutions are connected to the...

-Women's Feature Service Tribal families in Bankura, West Bengal, living on a stable diet of potato and rice and occasionally some 'daal' (lentils), are now consuming a variety of vegetables, cereals, fruits and animal protein with relish on a daily basis, marking a sea change in the nutrition parametres in one of the most backward districts of India. The credit for this dramatic transformation goes to the dry land sustainable integrated farming...