With some States defaulting on payment of their share of funds for providing meals to children in government schools, adversely affecting the implementation of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, the Centre has now asked all States to consider adopting Andhra Pradesh's model ‘Green Channel Scheme.' The A.P. model makes funds available throughout the year. “All States and Union Territories may take the lead from Andhra Pradesh and streamline the release of funds,”...

Ignoring widespread concern over the safety, efficacy and cost of pentavalent vaccines, India’s central health ministry has, this month, approved inclusion of the prophylactic cocktail in the universal immunisation programme in seven of its provinces. Pentavalent vaccine doses, a cocktail of five antigens in a single shot, confers immunity against five paediatric diseases - diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B and haemophilus influenza type b (Hib), with the last one considered particularly...

-Express News Service The Punjab government has decided to include representatives of Home Department, Advocate General’s office and some social activists, including women, as members of the security review committee for grant of protection to whistle blowers. The committee would be headed by the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Security. The state submitted this in the Punjab and haryana High Court through an affidavit filed by Surinder Pal Singh, SSP Security...

They are also entitled to interest on solatium, additional market value Farmers whose land is acquired for a public purpose are entitled to the highest market value as compensation, the Supreme Court held on Friday. “When the land is being compulsorily taken away from a person, he is entitled to the highest value which similar land in the locality is shown to have fetched in a bona fide transaction entered into between...

-Express News Service Chandigarh: Making it clear that the Right to Education (RTE) Act will have an overriding effect on all other regulations on the reservation of seats for the economically weaker sections (EWS), the Punjab and haryana High Court has told the private schools to comply with the RTE Act and the latest Supreme Court judgment on the Act. Disposing of a bunch of petitions filed by private schools challenging various...