-The Telegraph The shape and size of buses funded under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission are set to change soon. The urban development ministry is working on new “specifications” following several complaints about the design of these buses. The main problems relate to ventilation and cramped standing space. Another relates to the massive size of the low-floor buses, which work well for a city like Delhi with its wide roads but...

Double fortified salt is a good idea but... Iodine & Iron     Iodised salt came to India in the late 1950s     Today, 80 per cent of India uses iodised salt, which has reduced the incidence of goitre     Fortifying salt with both iodine and iron can help fight another widespread condition—anaemia     Double fortified salt, or DFS, could prove to be a game-changer in the fight against malnutrition     But if the fight against...

Makhdumpur is a village in Uttar Pradesh's Bhadohi district. Adjoining it is a cluster of huts inhabited by people of the Nat caste, one of the lowest among Dalits. Congress party general secretary Rahul Gandhi visited a hut in the settlement just before the recent State Assembly elections. He spent some time inside the hut, interacted with the residents, shared a meal with them and then went on his way....

But non-farm income keeps economy afloat   New Delhi, April 25: The rural growth story is slowly losing sheen because of inflation and rising input costs. In fact, rural price level is higher than urban price level. The March Consumer Price Index number for rural India stood at 116.3, while that for urban India stood at 114.6. Mr Ajay Sriram, Chairman and Senior Managing Director, DCM Sriram Consolidated Ltd, says the rural growth...

NEW DELHI: It could be a second innings for special economic zones, especially those held up for years, with the commerce department proposing fresh tax concessions and a cut in the minimum area requirement to a quarter of the present specifications. The department has suggested that any zone that is not built around the identified 40 million-plus cities and state capitals would be eligible for duty benefits on capital investment for...