After much debate, the Cabinet cleared the food security bill. Will it really ensure food for every Indian? THE Lokpal Bill debate may have ended in a fiasco but 2011 ended on a positive note for the Congress-led UPA government on another count. Its pet project, the National Food Security Bill (NFSB), was cleared by the Union Cabinet and introduced in Parliament. The bill seeks to address widespread hunger in the...

Passing by dense sugarcane and mustard fields, and potholed tracks on the outskirts of rural Lakhimpur Kheri, one reaches the large residential enclave of Mithun Kumar on the Uttar Pradesh-Nepal border. Introductions done, the 52-year-old proudly informs he has just booked a 2,000 sq ft plot in the upcoming Omaxe City township in Lucknow. "It will also have a club house and a mini golf-course once fully developed," he adds. As farmers...

Decoding the 'mystery' behind Maoists, the Centre has for the first time brought out in open many facts that have hitherto remained in official papers and urged aam aadmis to expose true colours of Red rebels in whatever ways they can, including use of social media like Facebook and twitter. In a document, brought out in the form of frequently asked questions (FAQs) last week, the Union home ministry has classified...

-The Hindustan Times   Press Council of Indian chairperson Markandey Katju has warned the Uttar Pradesh government for violating press freedom in various ways and acting "arbitrarily and in a vindictive manner". Taking serious note of complaints from journalists in the state, Katju has written in a letter to chief secretary, UP: “Many complaints have been coming from the state of Uttar Pradesh that press freedom is being violated in various ways e.g....

-PTI The National Rural Health Mission scam in Uttar Pradesh has turned murkier with another health official being found murdered at his home — the fifth victim in the last one year after the alleged bungling of over Rs.10,000 crore of Central funds surfaced. The U.P. police found the body of Mahendra Sharma, an accountant, with severe injuries on his head and face, from the Pasgawan health centre area in Lakhimpur Kheri...