Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) chairperson SRIkumar Banerjee on Monday said the EPR technology proposed at Jaitapur would have to be evaluated for safety from the context of earthquakes and tsunamis coming together. Addressing a press conference here, Dr. Banerjee and other heads of India's nuclear establishment sought to dispel myths about the accident in Japan. They were also categorical that neither India's nuclear programme nor the Jaitapur nuclear power project will...

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has given his nod to appoint Lokpal in 12 districts for grievance redressal under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act (MGNREGA). The chief minister has given the approval to appoint Lokpal in Banswara, Bundi, Dausa, SRIganganagar, Jalore, Jhalawar, Jhunjhunu, Jodhpur, Kota, Nagaur, Pratapgarh and Tonk districts, a spokesperson said. Gehlot also approved 20 per cent increase in advertisement rates set by the Department of...

We condemn in the strongest possible terms the recent murder of NREGA activist Niyamat Ansari in Kope Gram Panchayat (Latehar District, Jharkhand), as well as a similar attempt — the same day — on the life of his associate Bhukhan Singh. Briefly, this murder was the culmination of a series of acts of harassment, including at least one earlier attempt on Bhukhan and Niyamat's lives. Bhukhan and Niyamat fearlessly continued to...

The Right to Food Campaign on Monday announced its decision to launch a country-wide protest against the National Advisory Council's framework for the proposed National Food Security Bill, which, they said, fell short of people's expectation of a comprehensive food security bill that addressed nutrition and livelihood issues. “Even the budget proposals show no commitment to food security of people,” Campaign Convener Kavita SRIvastava told journalists here. Failed to seize opportunity “By proposing...

Social priorities have received scant fiscal attention There is good reason to feel let down by this year’s budget for the advancement of social sectors. The disappointment is more given that the Union finance minister opened his speech by stating that “we are reaching the end of a remarkable fiscal year” and followed it up by immediate assertions that “growth in 2010-11 has been swift and broad-based”, that “the economy...