-The Telegraph New Delhi: Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal has asked the central government to increase wages under the national rural job scheme to at least Rs 300 a day to attract workers, a view apparently shared by many states as well as Activists. An official in the rural development ministry said many state governments had already written to the Centre citing difficulties in implementing the MGNREGA because of the low...

-Down to Earth Till now, the Centre has issued three notifications for the extension of the deadline A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Centre on Friday over the non-implementation of the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA). The bench comprising Justice Madan Lokur and Justice U U Lalit rapped the central government over the inordinate delay. Earlier, in May Delhi-based human rights organisation, the People’s Union for Civil...

-The Times of India PRATAPGARH/ALLAHABAD: After five years of collective work, over 10,000 people in nearly 50 villages of Pratapgarh and Allahabad districts have been successful in bringing the Bakulahi river back to its natural course. If Bihar's Dasrath Manjhi's resolve to break mountain was for carving out a road, these Manjhis from Mandhata block of Pratagarh were determined to end their water woes. The entire digging work of about 18...

-The Hindu For a while now, Greenpeace has been in the cross hairs of the government, first under the UPA and now under the BJP, as it championed civil liberties and causes. Its Activists have been prevented from travelling abroad. The non-governmental organisation (NGO) stands accused of concealing and mixing foreign contributions with local contributions. The latest step by the Ministry of Home Affairs simply cancelling Greenpeace’s registration was but an...

-Economic and Political Weekly The draft National Health Policy 2015 is an improvement over its predecessors--the policies of 1984 and 2002. However, it also reveals several gaps, inconsistencies and blind spots which tend to dilute otherwise constructive proposals. The purpose of this article is to open up the draft to further public debate and comment. Forum for Medical Ethics Society (fmesmumbai@gmail.com) is a voluntary, non-profit organisation registered in Mumbai. The society was...