The Supreme Court Bench headed by Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan set aside the verdict of Jharkhand High Court and upheld the constitutional validity of the amendment in the law that mandates reservations of the chairperson’s post of Panchayats at all levels for the Scheduled Tribe in all the scheduled areas. The bench struck down Section 4(G) of the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA), 1996 and held that other...

While a country like China devised practical ways to deliver healthcare to rural populations by deploying its band of ‘barefoot doctors’ from the 1960s in a transitional phase, and then went on to expand full-fledged medical education facilities that enabled national coverage to a great degree, chronic shortages of doctors in rural India six decades after Independence remain a worry. The allopathic doctor-patient ratio is a dismal 1:1,722. Nevertheless, the...

Under fire for rising prices, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked state governments to tackle shortages of essential supplies while promising all possible assistance from the Centre. “It will never be possible to insulate ourselves from the pulls and pressures of international demand and supply. The State Governments must forge appropriate strategies to bolster food production and tackle shortages of essential supplies”, he said. Addressing the first annual conference of...

Maoist-hit Koraput region will soon find a place on the international map, but for a different reason. The region is going to be recognised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation as a “globally important agriculture heritage system” on the pattern of world heritage sites declared by the Unesco, said eminent agro scientist M.S. Swaminathan here today. Considering the extraordinary biological and agricultural diversity of the Koraput region, which needs to be protected...

MOLASUR, INDIA — It was Pongal a couple weeks ago, the Tamil harvest festival, and villages around here were alive with temple music and firecrackers. Tractors were scrubbed down, shiny, and cows were decked out in flowers. Pongal is a joyful holiday, a time of thanksgiving. For three days, the countryside was in a festive mood. The monsoons have been abundant this year. Village tanks are overflowing. Fields are green with...