It's no longer a job for politician; it's for expert in rural development Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has decided to step down as president of the governing body of the CAPART (Council for Advancement of People's Action and Rural Technology) and pave the way for its professional management, besides putting an end to political misuse that has reduced the autonomous body to a storehouse of corruption. The CAPART executive committee...

In the initial months of governance by the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, attempts appear to have been made to begin subverting the positive results of the land reform programme of the Left Front. What is happening appears to be the inevitable outcome of political rivalry, the hegemonic rule of one party giving place to another, with the citadel of power changing its colour, making the “red” one “green”. But...

The government, the largest owner of landed property in the country, is preparing a comprehensive land sale policy to raise revenues and check corruption in government-owned property deals. The finance ministry will shortly move a cabinet note for bringing in a new uniform policy on 'land alienation' by government agencies, with an eye on removing discretionary powers of individual ministers and bureaucrats, said a government official. In big cities, large tracts...

-PTI A UP revenue board member and five others were today booked by the CBI in three new cases for allegedly fudging funds in NRHM projects estimated to be over Rs 250 crore as the agency carried out searches at 44 locations across the state and the national capital. Residential premises of revenue board member Pradeep Shukla and officials of public sector undertakings were searched during the operation which was spread across...

-The Telegraph Google India, one of nearly two dozen online sites accused of hosting objectionable content, today said blocking them couldn’t be an option as that would violate the right to freedom of speech and expression in a democratic country. “There are serious issues regarding freedom of speech and we are proud to have this freedom in our country unlike a totalitarian regime like China,” the website’s counsel Neeraj Kishan Kaul told...