-The Hindu   Drawing attention to the situation in Jagatsinghpur district of Orissa, where villagers are peacefully opposing forcible acquisition of their private and forest lands by the Orissa Government for South Korean steel major Posco's project, a report titled “Tearing through the water landscape: Evaluating the environmental and social consequences of Psco project in Orissa, India” was released here on Tuesday. “People have been against industrialisation of their land since November...

-The Times of India   A day before UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi's visit to the tribal belt of the state, chief minister Ashok Gehlot and Union minister C P Joshi reviewed the preparations at Banswara and Dungarpur. Sonia would be on a day's visit to Banswara to launch the Centre's flagship rural self-employment programme and lay the foundation stone of the long-awaited ambitious Dungarpur-Banswara-Ratlam rail line project in Dungarpur district. UPA...

The concept of “a ubiquitous magic plastic” that bring out the unique in a living person has caught the fascination of most of us. An unpopular government sees in it the ability of cutting a long red tape short to correctly identify the genuine citizens in need. The agonised cops of India see in it a great ally to apprehend the much-wanted terrorists, whose biometric data could now be verified...

To ensure transparency in delivery of commodities to the poor in Rajasthan The Rajasthan Government has decided to conduct the much sought-after social audit for fair price shops functioning under the public distribution system (PDS) to ensure transparency and effectiveness in the delivery of essential commodities to poor people. The move follows the success of similar exercise for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. The social audit is being introduced...

-The Deccan Herald   The Congress-led UPA Government is all set to re-launch its flagship rural self-employment scheme as a national mission to reach out to all the rural Below Poverty Line (BPL) families and link them to sustainable livelihood opportunities. Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi will launch the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) at Banswara in Rajasthan on Saturday. Rural Development Minister Vilas Rao Deshmukh said that the NRLM –...