When a massive sum of public money is spent on a programme like Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MGNREGA)--a demand-driven programme, there is likelihood of financial misappropriations and mismanagement. Thankfully there are checks and balances in the rural employment guarantee legislation to counter such malpractices. It is worth noting that the total allocation under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MGNREGA) for 2020-21 was Rs. 1,11,500.00 crore (R.E.), up...

-The Hindu   Recently, Tamil Nadu had filed an affidavit assuring that the dam was safe hydrologically and protected from earthquakes. The Supreme Court on Tuesday scheduled a hearing on March 9 of the case concerning the safety of the 126-year-old Mullaperiyar Dam. A Bench led by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar adjourned the hearing on a request made by the Centre. Recently, Tamil Nadu had filed an affidavit assuring that the dam was safe hydrologically and...

-Livemint.com Not only Maharashtra, but five other states in the country are also witnessing a surge in daily Covid-19 infections, triggering worries India's total coronavirus active cases currently stand at 1,45,634 including 48,439 and 59,814 active ones from Maharashtra and Kerala, the health ministry said on Sunday. Two states - Kerala and Maharashtra - cumulatively account for more than 74% of India's total active cases. Maharashtra recorded more than 6,000 Covid-19 cases on Saturday...

School meals ensure nutrition for millions of vulnerable children across the world. Almost 370 million children worldwide are covered by school feeding programmes. While 100 million school children benefitted from the noon meal scheme in India prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, countries like Brazil (48 million), China (44 million), South Africa (9 million) and Nigeria (9 million) too run similar programmes for school children. However, an estimated 39 billion in-school...

-Scroll.in The 126-year-old barrage has dangerously outlived its 50 years of life. Perched high up in the Western Ghats, adjacent to Kerala’s famed Periyar wildlife sanctuary, is a 126-year-old dam that has dangerously outlived the 50 years of life intended for it by colonial British engineers. NK Premachandran, a member of parliament from Kerala, describes the 53.6 metre-high Mullaperiyar dam on the Periyar river as “a ticking timebomb waiting to explode, not only...