-The Hindu Absolutely nothing wrong in funding the channels in a transparent way, says official Raipur: Raman Singh’s BJP government “has paid for favourable news stories” and “regular live coverage” to a host of national and local television channels, an English language newspaper reported. Furthermore, the senior editors of the channels concerned allegedly wrote to the public relations (PR) department of the Chhattisgarh government “negotiating” rates to produce “news stories” and to ensure...

-The Indian Express Raipur: In May 2010, Hindi TV channel Sahara Samay presented a five-point proposal to the public relations department of the Chhattisgarh government about covering government activities during 2010-11: 1. Two-minute special package: Sahara Samay will show the package 15 times a day during news bulletins. It will contain “CM’s speeches, government policies, and special news related to various departments.” Cost: Rs 3.28 crore per year at Rs 3,000 per...

-The Times of India Raipur: Expert in public policy and capacity building T R Raghunandan, a former IAS officer of Karnataka Cadre, said on Thursday that transfer of cash subsidy to the beneficiaries was not a "magic wand" but it could help create purchasing power among the masses in the respective areas. Speaking at the media capacity building workshop, organised by the centre and the UN joint programme on convergence here, he...

-NDTV Raipur: Chhattisgarh does not favour the Centre's plan to dole out subsidies to beneficiaries by direct cash transfer, the state's chief minister Raman Singh has told the Prime Minister. In a letter to Dr Manmohan Singh and Union Food Minister KV Thomas, the chief minister said limitations in banking and information technology would make it difficult for Chhattisgarh to implement the scheme. He said Public Distribution System (PDS) outlets were the most...

-The Indian Express Raipur: A nationwide health survey in jails has found 80 of Chhattisgarh’s prisoners HIV-positive, out of 13,000-odd tested. Prison authorities insist that the inmates had probably arrived already infected, but health authorities don’t rule out the possibility that it was after being jailed that they got infected, with unsafe sex or drug use the likely causes. This has turned into a contentious issue. The health authorities are contemplating distribution...