-The Hindu Sleuths from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted searches in 12 locations in Lucknow district on Saturday in connection with the multi-crore foodgrains scam in Uttar Pradesh. The scam relates to sale of wheat and rice — meant for distribution to the poor — in the black market from 2002 to 2007, and was estimated to be of the order of around Rs. 35,000 crore. The locations included those in...

This is for you, newly-weds. If you delay that little parcel of joy by over two years, another parcel is yours. A crisp parcel of notes. According to a scheme to be launched under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), the government will reward newly-weds with a cash prize of Rs 500 if they don’t have children in the first two years of their marriage. That’s not all. If they want, a couple can...

With regional disparities, the target of four per cent agricultural growth remains elusive The importance of agriculture in the Indian economy becomes quite clear just before the monsoons. Though other sectors contribute a greater share to the national income, more than three quarters of India’s rural population is still dependent on agriculture as the primary driver of income. India has come a long way from an era of vulnerability to food shortages...

If this doesn’t raise a national stink, little else will. Around 3.5 crore toilets are missing in India, if official statistics are not meant to be flushed down the drain. The Union rural development ministry claims its Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) has delivered more than 8.71 crore latrines to households across villages over the past decade. But household data from the population census shows that only around 5.16 crore households had latrines...

SURAT: The country's biggest man-made fibre industry in the city, which contributes to about 40 per cent of the nation's man-made fabric demand, is facing an acute shortage of workers. A huge chunk of skilled workers from states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh employed in the weaving and processing sectors have shifted to their hometowns in the last five years due to National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA)...