Taking education to sex workers and prisoners in jail in West Bengal, the Indira Gandhi National Open University (Ignou) has decided to waive fees for them. “To start with, Ignou has decided to select the red light district of Sonagachi here from where 26 sex workers are likely to join courses on healthcare and food and nutrition programmes,” Ignou vice-chancellor V.N. Rajsekharan Pillai said. He said that the Kolkata Regional Centre would...

The guerrilla fighter was tough, experienced, leading a platoon of around 60 insurgents. "I am from a very poor family," the fighter told me. "Life was very difficult. I joined the party and now I understand many more things. I think revolution is the only option." One thing you should know about this hardline Maoist rebel - she is a young woman. She is one of the growing numbers of poor...

There will be no census exercise in several hundred villages in Chhattisgarh which have been rendered out of bounds for government officials by Naxalite groups. District administrations of Jagdalpur, Dantewada, Bijapur, Narayanpur and Kanker, all part of undivided Bastar which was once one of the largest districts in the country, have informed senior officials in Raipur that it will be difficult for them to carry out the census exercise — counting...

In an attempt to prevent the misuse of funds under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), the Planning Commission will seek cabinet approval for appointment of evaluation officers to ensure that the money is not misappropriated. “The Planning Commission has already received favourable comments in this regard from all concerned departments including Ministries of Finance and Panchayati Raj,” said Sudha Pillai, secretary, Planning Commission, while releasing the Associated Chambers...

As states get together to launch security operations, official data from the first-ever study done of the country’s 33 districts hardest hit by Naxalites, shows an abysmal record of government expenditure on basic amenities, including health, education, roads, electricity and child care. In fact, the evidence couldn’t be more stark: the expenditure in a state’s Naxal-affected districts is merely a fraction of the figure for the rest of the state...