Forest Minister Benoy Viswom on Monday expressed apprehension that the National Green Tribunal Act, enacted by the Centre, would lead to dilution of the Forest (Conservation) Act. In a letter to Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh, Mr. Viswom called upon the Union Minister to convene a conference of State Ministers of forests and environment to discuss issues related to the Act. Concerns Mr. Viswom said while he appreciated...
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Smart cards for NREGA, pension beneficiaries
As part of its financial outreach programme in tune with national priority, city-based private sector Karnataka Bank Limited is all set to launch KBL-Empower Biometric smart card at Babbur in Hiriyur taluk of Chitradurga district on Wednesday. P Jayarama Bhat, managing director of the Bank, will launch the card in the presence of Range Gowda, CEO, Chitradurga ZP who will distribute the card to the beneficiaries. With this, the bank is...
More »Changing face of local polls by Mrinal Pande
Panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh have thrown up many curious phenomena. Everyone involved with the panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh seems to love it. Sons, brothers, sons-in-law of MLAs contesting for seats at the village, tehsil or district levels in vast numbers are happy because the vidhayak mahoday is campaigning on their behalf, making full use of the party machinery. Wives and daughters-in-law from ‘influential families' are delighted because their family's...
More »The ugly underbelly of Microfinance by Roli Srivastava, Swati Bharadwaj-Chand & Partha Sinha
SKS Microfinance, India's largest microfinance player, arrived with a bang with its hugely successful IPO in August. However, the recent sacking of its MD and CEO Suresh Gurumani has opened up a pandora's box that is now threatening to expose the ugly underbelly of the sector which, many allege, is teeming with players who are no better than moneylenders but have so far been able to operate under the pious...
More »Information commissioners want transparent selection process
Five years after Right to Information (RTI) Act came into existence, Information Commissioners feel that there should be more transparency in their appointments. A survey conducted by Parivartan , an NGO, among state and central Information Commissioners , the final appellate authorities for RTI Act grievances and complaints, has found that 66% of commissioners surveyed want a transparent selection process. The survey found that Information Commissioners had reservations about the...
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