-The Hindu   Apart from ensuring the immediate appointment of 18,000 panchayat development officers and as many junior Engineers, the Centre has drawn up a blueprint to provide jobs to three-lakh youth in the 60 left wing extremist affected districts in the country. Union Minister of Rural Development Jairam Ramesh, in his consolidated note for the approval of the Empowered Group of Secretaries for the Integrated Action Plan (IAP) under Planning Commission member...

-The Hindu   A group of 15 experts from various fields has been set up by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to interact with Tamil Nadu government officials and spokespersons of the people in the neighbourhood of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNNP) to dispel the apprehensions of the locals on the safety of reactors. Manmohan's assurance The decision follows Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's assurance to a multi-party delegation from Tamil Nadu on October...

-The Hindustan Times   As protesters blocked entry points to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) in Tamil Nadu for the third day in a row, the troubles of the 1,000 families trapped inside the complex deepened with water, milk and other essential supplies beginning to run out. Although V Narayanasamy, minister of state in the prime minister's office, said the government would not abandon the project, one of the officials trapped inside...

Mihir Shah, member of the Planning Commission and chairman of the committee to redraft rules and guidelines of NREGA, tells Sreelatha Menon that the Act may also cover farm labourers. The consortium of NGOs that recommended changes in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) was founded by you, but your suggestions have been criticised. You seem to consider it a lack of demand rather than a supply problem. First, you should...

After a 33-day standoff between the workers at Maruti Suzuki India’s Manesar facility and the management, the company on Saturday said that a common ground has been reached and agitating workers would resume work on Monday. The stir finally ended on Saturday morning after a meeting between the agitating workers, government and the company management, where workers agreed to sign the ‘good conduct bond’ and a commitment that production would not...