With the PDS carriage contractors threatening to quit service if their pending Bills are not cleared by the FCI, Arunachal Pradesh is in the verge facing an acute food crisis, which is already in an alarming situation according to reports. However, efforts are on to mitigate the situation with the government, supported by its MPs, impressing upon the Center to do the needful immediately. Lok Sabha MP Takam Sanjoy, who called...

TRIBUTE On May 5 it will be six months since Prabhat Joshi left us. Remembering that towering figure in the field of journalism on this occasion, we are carrying the following tribute which brings out yet another facet of his personality. It was written quite sometime ago but could not be published earlier due to unavoidable reasons. Prabhash Joshi was one of the most important journalists and thinkers of our times. He...

The government has decided to divert about Rs 100 crore of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) funds to construct roads in rural areas in Anantapur district. The Zilla Parishad will assign these works to contractors under the nomination process instead of inviting tenders. About Rs 50 lakh are allotted to each mandal and every constituency gets around Rs 5 crore for road works. Ruling party leaders are eyeing these funds as...

* Documentary evidence gathered by the Central Employment Guarantee Council (CEGC) from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Rajasthan points to large-scale embezzlement in nrega projects * Panchayats often furnish fake Bills and fictitious companies have been floated to divert funds * Hundreds of crores are lost to this sort of leakage * The CAG, too, has pointed out  large-scale irregularities and corruption in the implementation of NREGA projects...

In our 63rd year of Independence, the Right to Education Act comes into effect on April 1. On the eve of its launch, the Union education minister has balanced our perspective by another resolve. India’s enrolment rate for higher education is around 12 per cent. He would increase this to 30 per cent, in line with the advanced nations. There is only one snag. Unlike in advanced countries, one Indian in...