-IndiaSpend.com MGNREGS is going beyond its conventional role of acting just as a source of rural employment for women to becoming a platform to place demands for village community work, to negotiate for space and power with gram panchayats and for networking. Jorhat (Assam), Kannur (Kerala) and Bahraich (Uttar Pradesh): What does a job card under the national rural jobs programme, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), mean for someone? For...

-The Hindu Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Maharashtra are the top States registering a rise in the number of COVID cases India’s indigenous COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin from Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotechis now authorised for emergency use on a par with Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield, NITI Aayog’s member (health) V.K. Paul said on Thursday. India is now seeing a rise in the number of active cases after touching lowest mark in mid-February. Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh,...

-The Hindu Online legal news portal Live Law challenges regulations. The Kerala High Court on March 10 restrained the Centre from taking coercive action against Live Law Media Private Ltd., which owns a legal news portal, for any non-compliance with Part III of the new IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. The court issued notice to the Centre on a petition filed by the firm challenging the rules regulating...

-The Hindu Unlike the rest of India, Kerala has maintained the same level of daily testing despite a reduction in number of cases From mid-February, a spike in daily new cases was reported from a few States including Maharashtra. For days on end, the Health Ministry kept repeating the message that Kerala too was “witnessing an upsurge of daily new cases”. Even as recently as March 6, the Health Ministry wrongly implicated...

-The Hindu PVC flex, plastic boards barred, only recyclable materials permitted THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Guidelines have been issued for ensuring a ‘green’ environment for the 2021 Assembly elections. Political parties and candidates stand barred from using PVC flex boards and banners. They have been asked to avoid flags and festoons made of plastics and non-biodegradable materials. Recyclable materials such as cotton cloth, paper and polyethylene alone are permitted for the election campaigns. The logo ‘Recyclable, PVC...