-The Hindu Gaya (Bihar)/ Gumla (Jharkhand): It was a few tense minutes for nearly 1,000 residents gathered under a shamiana in Bharno block office in Gumla district, about 50 kilometres south of Ranchi. The Crowd was awaiting the arrival of Sunil Kumar Keshari, the ration shop dealer of Bharno. “Out of 200 residents of Pandarni village, only three can get rations from Keshari’s shop,” said Sukramani, a resident of the village. Clearly it...

-GovernanceNow.com A report on public hearing at in Gumla of Jharkhand Jharkhand has reached a make-or-break point in the battle against hunger. For the first time, the National Food Security Act (NFSA) makes it possible to ensure that no one sleeps on an empty stomach. Many people, however, are still struggling to secure their entitlements under the Act. By way of reality check, a careful survey of NFSA was recently completed...

-The Indian Express Political will and public participation will need to come together for India to become a leader in solar power on a global scale Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making major strides in energising India through solar power. During the UN conference on climate change held in Paris in 2015, PM Modi and the French President Francois Hollande launched the International Solar Alliance, to be headquartered in India. The...

-CivilSocietyOnline.com For the past decade state governments have launched a series of Internet-based initiatives to deliver services more efficiently. Technology has been seen as the best way of bypassing red tape and corruption in the system to reach the poor directly with benefits. Beneficiaries are identified through biometrics and a series of tech solutions like smart cards, micro ATMs and so on. The result of these efforts is that India is...

-The Hindu Swaraj Abhiyan is seeking to create awareness of the SC judgment and citizen’s entitlements. Latur: It’s a quarter past seven in the morning in the small village of Khandapur in Latur district. In the small window of time before the pleasant morning sun turns into unforgiving heat, a small group of people are gathered in a street next to the gram panchayat office. A group of volunteers from the Yogendra Yadav-led...