-The Hindustan Times Even as the Congress upped its ante on last week's anti-naxal encounter in Chhattisgarh and claimed innocent tribals and children were killed by the security forces, union home minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday said he was "deeply sorry" if any civilian died in the anti-Maoist operations. Union tribal affairs minister V Kishore Chandra Deo told HT that he is also collecting information from various sources and will present them...

-The Hindustan Times In a clear indication of growing unease within the Congress party over last week's anti-naxal operation in Chhattisgarh in which 19 alleged Maoists were killed, tribal affairs minister V Kishore Chandra Deo on Tuesday termed the action "completely unacceptable". Deo's comments echo the Chhattisgarh Congress state unit's view that the encounter by the state police and the CRPF in Bijapur district was "completely fake". Deo said he will raise the...

-The Economic Times A section of the Chhattisgarh government is coming around to the view that a judicial inquiry into the recent encounter with Maoists may be the best option to counter allegations that innocent tribals were killed.  The state government is already in touch with the Union home ministry in this regard, a senior official told ET. The official, who did not wish to be named, said a section within the...

-The Telegraph On a full-attendance day at a business process outsourcing centre in a village in Uttar Pradesh, 40 boys and girls work on computers, each of their desktops powered by rooftop solar panels that turn sunlight into electricity. Their workplace, a two-storey building, is the only structure in Sonari, a village of about 1,700 people and located about 50km from Lucknow on the road to Sitapur, where electricity is guaranteed nine...

-The Times of India India will fail to achieve some of the most important Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets like reduction in maternal and child deaths, and increase in child immunization rates by 2015. The World Health Organization (WHO) has for the first time aired its views that India will miss its targets, some by a big margin. Dr Nata Menabde, country representative of the WHO, told TOI, "The MDG targets will expire...