When Sujatha’s husband learned that she had conceived just five months after they got married, he became agitated over what he called her "ill-timed pregnancy". To worsen her husband’s anxiety, a test to determine the sex of the foetus showed she was carrying a girl. Sujatha, a public school teacher, and her husband, a civil engineer – who asked that their full names be withheld – are from well-off and educated...

-The Morung Express   The Government of India-nominated members of a vigilance committee has convened an emergency meeting for Tuesday, July 12 in Kohima to discuss issues associated with more than Rs. 36 crores central grants given to Nagaland under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS).    Members of the State-level Vigilance & Monitoring Committee nominated by the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India will meet at 10 am in Kohima...

-The Times of India   Maoist-affected districts across the country might have seen years of neglect by successive governments, but a new Central scheme - Integrated Action Plan (IAP) - under the UPA-II is fast filling up the 'critical gap' in those 'deficit zones' through taking up a number of development projects. As many as 67,072 basic infrastructure projects across 60 districts in nine states have been taken up at Rs 2,740...

-The Hindu   Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has refused to issue forest clearance to the Mahan coal block in the Singrauli field of Madhya Pradesh, meant for the use of Essar and Hindalco power plants. However, this is not the final rejection. Instead, Mr. Ramesh has merely washed his hands of on the issue and passed the buck to a Group of Ministers to take a final decision. However, he has recommended that...

Performance indicators and pink slips are no longer the domain of grueling corporate jobs. Something fundamental is changing in public universities of India that have always provided their teachers job security and the comfort of fixed work hours. The government funded Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) plans to recruit faculty on their Hyderabad campus on a contractual basis. It is only after a regular annual assessment, which includes students' evaluation,...