-The Times of India PATIALA: A new study has revealed that over 34% of marginal farmers in Punjab are still living below poverty line, denting the tall claims of SAD-BJP government on uplift of the farmers, who are considered the traditional vote bank of the over nine-decade-old Shiromani Akali Dal. Besides marginal farmers, the study conducted by the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, has also brought to the fore that over 20%...

-The Times of India CHENNAI: If an anti-corruption website ( www.ipaidabribe.com) set up by Bangalore-based NGO Janaagraha is an indicator, Chennai is the second most corrupt city in the country after Bangalore. More than 1,100 Chennaiites posted on the website, which encourages voluntary disclosure of bribe-paying, that they had cumulatively paid more than Rs 7 crore in the last three years to grease the palms of government officers. Most pertain to land...

-The Indian Express Muzaffarnagar: With winter setting in, and the conditions in relief camps fast deteriorating, over 900 displaced families in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts have signed affidavits stating that they will not return to their villages, in return for a compensation of Rs 5 lakh from the state government. "Main aur mere parivar ke sadasya apne gram mein hui hinsatmak ghatnaon se bhayakant hokar gaon va ghar chhodkar aaye hain, tatha...

-The Hindustan Times New Delhi: We had not yet recovered from the horror played out in Member of Parliament Dhananjay Singh's home in New Delhi's VIP enclave when another horrific case of maid abuse tumbled out from a middle-class neighbourhood in east Delhi last week. A 55-year-old Non-Resident Indian, in town to take care of her ailing mother, allegedly tortured her maid by branding her with hot kitchen tongs. A minor...

-PTI Soaring inflation, high fuel cost, rising cost of education and health insurance premiums have eroded the real incomes of middle-class Indian families, with household savings rates dropping by a staggering 40 per cent in the last three years, says an Assocham survey. "Poor households are unable to maintain the consumption levels at current prices while middle income families find their purchasing power erode fast, thus having far less surplus money," Assocham...