The experts group, chaired by chief of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council C. Rangarajan, set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to examine the recommendations of the National Advisory Council (NAC) on the proposed National Food Security Bill, will hold its first meeting here on Friday. Even as the NAC is formulating the draft Bill, the experts group will examine the proposals and come up with its suggestions. A meeting of...

Liquor baron Vijay Mallya will take up the cause of tribals living in Biligiri Ranga Hills in Karnataka who fear being displaced as there are plans to declare the forest as a tiger reserve. Mallya who is a Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka said that it is the tribals who are guarding the tigers from poaching and other dangers. "If they are displaced, there will be no protection for them (tigers)," he...

The ambitious Polavaram project, the multi-purpose project proposed across the Godavari for making optimum utilisation of water going waste into the sea, is mired in problems. The much-talked about project, aimed at stabilising the century-old Krishna delta and irrigating over 7 lakh acres in the upland areas of East and West Godavari districts, is dogged by uncertainty since it became a bone of contention between different regions and faced with litigation....

Considered a potent weapon for combating Naxalism, the distribution of land titles to tribals and forest workers under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, is not moving at a satisfactory pace in UP in comparison to other states. This, despite chief minister Mayawati's repeated orders to expedite the process. The Naxals mislead tribals living in abject poverty. The latter are also exploited by forest officials and police. The FRA recognises...

Aiming to arrest the spread of Red terror in the country, the Union Cabinet cleared a Rs 3,300 crore special plan for 60 Naxal-affected districts across nine states to ensure overall development of these areas. Earlier, 35 districts were slated to receive the funds. Under the special plan -- Integrated Action Plan (IAP) for Selected Tribal and Backward Districts -- each of the 60 Naxal-hit districts would get Rs 25 crore...