In normal circumstances, E. Altrin, a fisherman from Rameswaram, would have sold the juvenile lobsters, each weighing 50 gm, in the market after the catch. That is no longer the case. Nowadays, whenever he gets the juveniles he shifts them to the floating cage in the sea. “After four months in the cages, these juveniles grow in size and weigh 200 gm. If I sell the juveniles I will get only...

To work out a methodology for identifying the urban poor for implementing the scheme  Panel to be headed by Prof S. R. Hashim, former Member of the Planning Commission The scheme will focus on granting property rights to slum-dwellers and urban poor The Planning Commission has set up a committee to work out a methodology for identifying the urban poor for implementation of the Rajiv Awas Yojana initiated by the Union Ministry...

Never mind the Kirit Parikh committee's proposal for a 20% reduction in pan-India allocation of subsidised kerosene to stem oil companies' under-recoveries, the UPA government might do just the opposite. It is mulling not only the retention of the commodity—used by a vast segment of rural India for LIGhting—in the targeted public distribution system (TPDS) but also introduction of another item: edible oil. Even as she is about to take over...

Several property dealers, unknown government officials booked  ‘Some property dealers and colonisers allegedly acquired agricultural land' ‘Conversation of agricultural land for residential purposes is not allowed' Several property dealers and unknown government officials have been booked by the Anti-Corruption Branch of the Delhi Government for allegedly carving out residential plots on agricultural land. The case pertains to illegal conversion of land in and around Narela in Outer Delhi, but similar violations across the...

The poor utilization of funds meant for rural development continues unabated in Orissa, especially in the backward districts of the state. The pointer to this fact is the gross under-utilization of the funds under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MG-NREGA) in Kalahandi, one of the poorest districts in the state and the country. Out of the total available fund of Rs 56.6 crore for the district under MG-NREGA including the...