The Orissa government on Monday strongly rebutted the findings of the four-member committee that recently submitted its report on POSCO’s proposed iron and steel plant in the state, saying all due processes had been followed and that there had been no violations of any legal provisions. Senior officers of the Orissa government, including Revenue Divisional Commissioner Pradipto Kumar MoHApatra and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Priyanath Padhi, appeared before the...

Supreme Court questions the norms and method adopted by Centre to identify such families The Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned the norms and method adopted by the Centre in identifying below the poverty line (BPL) families, as the figures furnished by it and the States were at variance and the State governments had complained of inadequate supply of foodgrains. Earlier, senior counsel Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the People's Union for Civil Liberties,...

The First ever Kui Music Album ‘Niyamgiri ti Rani’ was launched here at Mayfair, Bhubaneswar on 19th October, 2010. This is one-of-its kind initiative in the country to bring the beauty, the rich cultural heritage, their music and language to the limelight. The Dongria Kondhas are one of the primitive tribal inhabitants of Lanjigarh, in the district of Kalahandi. Kui, the traditional language of the Dongria Kondhas, has a rich oral...

School education boards across the country are planning to change their examination patterns to shift the focus from testing rote learning to assessing critical thinking. The Council of Boards of School Education (COBSE), an apex body that has all school boards as its members, today met in Ajmer and discussed the need for examination reforms. It decided to set up a committee to study the examination patterns followed by different boards...

Ensure proper distribution to targeted PDS beneficiaries The Supreme Court on Monday wanted the Centre to ensure that there was no further wastage of foodgrains and that there was proper distribution to the targeted beneficiaries. Justice Dalveer Bhandari, hearing a Public Interest Litigation petition on streamlining the Public Distribution System, told Additional Solicitor-General MoHAn Parasaran, who said the wastage was 7,000 tonnes and not 70,000 tonnes: “Enough is enough. We don't want...