Livid at the allegation of diversion of funds sent by the Centre to states for NREGA-mandated schemes, the Supreme Court on Monday warned to make an example out of Orissa to force other defaulting states to fall in line. "What nonsense is going on? The Centre must take steps to ensure that funds released under NREGA reaches the target population. We want action in this regard and will not allow any...

Orissa government today said it was ready for any probe by the Centre into alleged diversion of funds and non-implementation of rural employment guarantee scheme MGNREGA in the state.This was stated by Orissa's Panchayati Raj minister Prafulla Samal while reacting to the Supreme Court's direction for a Central probe into irregularities in the rural job guarantee scheme in the state.Noting that the state government had always taken steps to implement...

Navodaya Vidyalayas will be exempted from the provisions of the Right to Education Act. The two key provisions — no-screening and giving 25% reservation to children from economically weaker section — will not be applicable to 444 Navodaya Vidyalayas across the country. These schools will be treated as specified category schools. The HRD ministry had sought the opinion of former Chief Justice of India A S Anand, who said Navodaya Vidyalayas...

A day labourer has complained to court that a panchayat pradhan in cahoots with a bank manager has thrust a loan of Rs 30,000 on him for which he had never applied, the allegation exposing how beneficiaries of village schemes are left at the mercy of influential rural leaders.Additional chief judicial magistrate Manoj Rai, after criticising the police role in the investigation, asked the Islampur subdivisional officer yesterday to inquire...

Today, the Indian media—both print and television—is focusing on the recent corruption scandals involving the UPA Government with unusual zeal. However, I fail to understand why almost every commentator, every TV anchor, every editorial writer feels compelled to pay ritual obeisance to the “personal honesty and integrity” of Dr Manmohan Singh while dealing with the scandals emanating from his cabinet colleagues. They do so even when there is clear evidence...