The number of backward caste members eligible for reservation benefits may see a quantum jump, with the Centre considering a drastic relaxation of the definition of "creamy layer" to enable those with an annual income of Rs 12 lakh in metros qualify for quota benefits. The eligibility level is proposed to be raised to Rs 9 lakh in non-metro cities, marking a two-fold hike from the existing ceiling of Rs 4.5...

Mock drill was trigger, official insensitivity drives resentment against the nuclear power project St. Lourdes Church at Idinthakarai, a fishing village located about 80 km south of the Tirunelveli town, is an important place of worship for the local people. Of late, the Church, which is over 100 years old, is in the news for a different reason: it serves as the focal point for the protests against the Kudankulam Nuclear...

A river of bows and arrows slid through the urbane lanes of Raipur civil lines, coming to a startling stop outside the chief minister's gated and guarded residence in the autumn air of November 1st, the founding day of Chhattisgarh. As the police whisked them away, the tribal protestors told journalists they were asking for the most basic constitutional right: proportional reservation in government Jobs. Eleven years ago, the sprawling state...

Despite industry having preference from government trained manpower about 30% of the pass-outs failed to get a job in 2009 after getting vocational training from public sector institutes, a government survey has found. The reason, according to a survey done by ministry of labour, says that non-availability of Jobs or low salary were the two prime reasons for high unemployment rate in Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs). Most of the trainees...

-The Hindu Business Line   The Rural Development Minister, Mr Jairam Ramesh's proposal to amend the law on minimum wages to permit a lower wage for employment under the rural Jobs scheme (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act or MGNREGA) makes practical sense. The Karnataka High Court ruled recently that wages set under MGNREGA cannot be independent of the MWA. Effectively, it means there can be no such thing as an...