-The Hindu Pandemic relief was to end in March 2022. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Saturday extended the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) for another six months till September 2022. The scheme was originally introduced in April 2020 a month into the first lockdown during the initial onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This will be the sixth phase of PM-GKAY. The Phase-V of the scheme was...

-The Telegraph The report stated that the Indian subcontinent was the most polluted region of the world during 2021 Kolkata was the second most polluted metro city in India and 60th most polluted city in the world in 2021. The city’s annual PM (particulate matter) 2.5 level, the most toxic ultrafine particulate, was nearly 12 times above the limit set by the World Health Organization, says a recently released international report on air...

-The Telegraph The social audits take note of issues such as the card holders’ grievances and whether projects have been completed correctly The Centre has linked approval for the states’ rural job scheme budgets to their performance on certain transparency measures, hanging a cloud over funds release under the programme from April 1. The Union rural development ministry on Tuesday wrote to all the states seeking information by Wednesday on the social audits...

-Down to Earth With sustainable development goals in place, increasing democratisation and connectivity of the world, ecologisation of politics and vice-versa will become the new norm Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai wrote: In a few decades, the relationship between the environment, resources and conflict may  seem so obvious as the connection we see today between human rights, democracy and  peace. Decreasing resource base and the  struggle for control and power leads to politicising ecological issues...

-TheWire.in The queries pertain to the safeguards in place to check state surveillance, the extent to which state surveillance is justified and seek suggestions on how to strengthen cyber security and balance individual rights with national security interests. New Delhi: The expert committee appointed by the Supreme Court to probe the alleged use of Pegasus spyware against journalists, opposition politicians, judges and others, has sought comments from the public on 11 queries...