-Down to Earth In the last one decade, it has also helped increase groundwater table by virtue of implementing a range of water conservation measures. Once ridiculed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the flagship scheme for rural employment, Mahatama Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), has been praised by his own government for helping in increasing rural household income. It has not only helped in increasing groundwater table in the...

-The Pioneer Raipur: The Chhattisgarh State Civil Supplies Corporation’s (CGSCSC) distribution centre module is now implemented at 120 warehouses of 108 distribution centres in the State, officials informed. The stocks and sales figures of previous month of all the Fair Price Shops (FPSs) are entered into this module and the actual amount of PDS commodities to be issued to FPS is calculated by this web based software and delivery order and truck...

-The Hindu Deregulating bamboo production does not address the issue of building a transparently governed forest sector Governments everywhere tend to look for quick-fixes, overlooking complexities and ignoring the big picture. The move by the Centre to “de-regulate” bamboo production by amending the definition of “trees” under the Indian Forest Act (IFA), 1927, is a great example of this tendency. In November 2017, the Central government issued an ordinance whereby “bamboo” was...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday fined 11 states and a Union territory Rs 2 lakh each for failing to furnish details of welfare measures for destitute widows. Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Mizoram, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Arunachal Pradesh, and the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli had failed to provide the information to a court-appointed panel. The committee of experts was set...

-The Hindu Low conviction rates and a lack of a lawful definition of crime mark criminal administration in India Police reform in India has been concerned with political interference ever since the landmark Supreme Court judgement, in 2006, on the subject. The focus should really be on reorganising criminal administration. The annual publication of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), “Crime in India 2016”, which was released recently, presents a dismal picture of...