-The Hindu Allow more flexibility at the ground level, says internal study commissioned by the Ministry of Rural Development An internal study commissioned by the Ministry of Rural Development has argued for decentralisation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), allowing for more “flexibility” at the ground level.  The Ministry recently made public the report of the sixth Common Review Mission which surveyed seven States — Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh,...

-The Telegraph West Bengal this year recorded the highest cumulative figure of dengue infections till a year’s 43rd week since 2017 Dengue cases will keep rising unless people become conscious and take steps to prevent mosquito breeding, mayor Firhad Hakim said on Sunday. Hakim said it was not possible for any government or civic body to locate each and every mosquito-breeding site, in each and every household. The dengue virus is spread by Aedes...

-Down to Earth Experts welcome move but call for a complete ban The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare issued a notice October 21, 2022 restricting the use of glyphosate, a widely used herbicide, citing health hazards for humans and animals. Only authorised Pest Control Operators are allowed to use it.  Earlier, state governments of Maharashtra, Telangana, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh have tried similar steps but failed. Pesticide Action Network (PAN) India...

-The Hindu While Supreme Court has voiced concerns over their increasing use to prove a case, women’s rights activists deem the technology an empowering tool Deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA tests occupy a grey area in the quest for justice, vacillating between the dangers of slipping into self-incrimination and encroachment of individual privacy and the ‘eminent need’ to unearth the truth, be in the form of evidence in a criminal case, a claim...

-newsclick.in The initiatives by Odisha and Rajasthan governments have prompted political leaders from other states to raise demands for similar action from their state governments. Kolkata: The recent decisions by two state governments – Odisha and Rajasthan – abolishing contractual engagement of people for government jobs have come as a morale booster for trade unions. The unions have been agitating for several years demanding contract workers' regularisation. The General Administration and Public...