-The Indian Express Pitching for immediate reforms in the Centre's flagship rural job scheme MGNREGA, Congress President Sonia Gandhi today said the complaints of corruption and irregularities regarding the scheme cannot be ignored. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Gandhi also expressed concern over the delay in wage payment to MGNREGA workers, emphasising the need to ensure that they get it within 15 days. "Talks about reform in MGNREGA have been on for quite...

-The Business Standard   Its guarantee of non-duplication can have far-reaching cost benefits but it has deep design flaws that can be compromised. PRAVEEN CHAKRAVARTY Former Volunteer, Financial Inclusion, UIDAI* “Aadhaar is an unadulterated identity programme that answers the question: Is the individual who he or she claims to be?”   The word “unique”, and not “identity”, is central to the unique identity programme or Aadhaar. It may be true that the vast majority of people possess some...

-The Times of India   It will be illegal for government employees in the state to go on strike or hold rallies if chief minister Mamata Banerjee has her way.  In a decision that has sent ripples down both camps, the government wants to take away the employees ' right to association, leave aside strike, that the Left Front government had bestowed upon them.  The bold step - once approved by the Cabinet -...

Says milk adulterated but not unsafe for consumption Six states and a union territory feed their people milk that does not meet the standards set by India’s food regulatory body at all. Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Daman & Diu are the “100 per cent non-conforming” states. In Delhi, 70 per cent of the samples failed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) test. Yet, the...

 The North Dinajpur district administration has started the proceedings to return more than 70 acres of land to its rightful tribal owners in Ramganj. This is the first time that the administration has taken up the initiative to restore illegally occupied tribal land, an official claimed. On January 16, the subdivisional officer of Islampur, Partha Ghosh, wrote to the district project officer-cum-district welfare officer to begin the proceedings for restoration of the...