The World Bank has cleared a $975-million (Rs 4,387 crore) loan for a pet rail project of Mamata Banerjee, the funds signal flashing at a time Bengal is on the lookout for affordable funds. The loan is meant for the first phase (Ludhiana-Mughal Sarai) of a dedicated high-speed freight corridor that will eventually link Calcutta and Delhi. But those familiar with the World Bank’s operations suggested that the approval could be more...

The World Bank has approved $1 billion as credit and loan to support India's efforts to clean up the Ganga river. The sprawling river basin accounts for a fourth of the country's water resources and is home to more than 400 million people. The $1.556 billion National Ganga River Basin Project with $1 billion in financing from the World Bank group, including $199 million interest-free credit and $801 million low-interest loan, was...

Oxfam, an international confederation of 15 human rights organisations fighting poverty and injustice, launched a new campaign here on Wednesday for a hunger-free world even as it announced that the number of hungry people the world over has crossed the billion mark and one in four of the world's hungry people live in India. Despite doubling the size of its economy between 1990 and 2005, the number of people in India...

Brajendra Ghosh (45), a farmer, committed suicide allegedly by consuming pesticide at Durmut village in Mangalkote on Sunday morning. He was declared dead on arrival at the Katwa Hospital. In the recent past, several cases of farmer suicides have come to light. But this is the first such case due to debt in the rice bowl of the state after the new government led by Mamata Banerjee stormed into power....

Agitators have threatened self-immolation if demands are not met The State government has opened negotiations with agitating farmers in Katesar village in Chandauli district bordering Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. The farmers, who have been protesting the acquisition of fertile agricultural land for a cultural and institutional hub on the banks of the Ganga, continued with their dharna on Monday. They have threatened self-immolation if the land acquisition process launched by the Varanasi...