-The Hindu "It is time now for Vedanta to gracefully respect public sentiment and pack off its establishment" JARAPA (ODISHA): Efforts of Vedanta Aluminium Limited (VAL), belonging to London-listed Vedanta Resources Plc, to mine bauxite ore in Niyamgiri hills in Odisha received a severe blow on Monday with the 12th palli (gram) sabha also voting against mining there. This is the first time an environmental referendum is conducted on a directive by the...

-Outlook Bhubaneswar: In another setback to the Odisha government's plan for bauxite mining for Vedanta on the Niyamgiri hills, an eleventh Gram Sabha and the penultimate one of the scheduled 12 to be held, today voted against the proposal. The Gram Sabha or village meeting at Khambesi village in Rayagada district unanimously rejected the proposal with all its 72 members, including 49 women, saying no. The members said the mining would severely affect...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Come July and our babus will be back in school. The Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEITY) will begin an e-governance training module called the e-Governance Executive Training Programme (eGEP). This is the first such national-level programme for officers at the level of under secretary, section officer, deputy director, assistant director, tehsil and block level officer or equivalent. They will be nominated by their department...

-The Times of India   NELLORE: At least five dalits were grievously injured at Ramapuram village of Tada mandal in the district when they were chased and attacked by upper caste landlords following a dispute over the festival of the village goddess on Monday. In the mayhem that lasted for two hours, the landlords smashed the valuables of the panic-stricken dalits after forcing them to flee their homes. The tension spread to four...

-The Hindu     Hamadoun Toure seeks support for International Telecommunication Regulations ITU Secretary General Dr. Hamadoun Touré, who was at the centre of the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) controversy which erupted at Dubai's treaty meet - World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) in December 2012 - is visiting India this week. Experts in the know of the treaty negotiations believe Dr. Touré will lobby the government and the private sector to persuade India to...