Work on India's sixth economic census will begin in 2012 as the government wants to give preference to enumeration of those living below the poverty line and a Caste census. The economic census, which provides basic data on the number of enterprises and people employed in them, was originally planned to begin this month. "We are now looking to start fieldwork on economic census by February 2012," a senior official with...

Many Indian laws do not reflect modern and enlightened concepts of justice and require major revision. The recent campaign in support of Dr. Binayak Sen has received much publicity. The mainstream media has enunciated his cause and dissected the evidence, conviction and judgment. Amnesty International argued that the case violated international standards for a fair trial. While Dr. Sen's conviction has received much attention, there is a need to foreground the...

In order to protect Kashmiris from being unnecessary harassed and faced humiliation, the Centre - on advice of the group of interlocutors on J&K - has issued an advisory to all States/UTs (except J&K) to exercise utmost sensitivity while making inquiries about residents of J&K living in different parts of the country. "It has also asked the States to issue appropriate instructions to all police stations that they should not...

Village Panchayat, Kaluana in district Sirsa figures among the best 11 panchayats in the country selected for their better performance in the implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREGA) Scheme in 2009-10. While stating this here on Wednesday, an official spokesman said UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh honoured the panchayat in a function organised in New Delhi to mark the fifth anniversary of the scheme. MGNREGA...

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday said workers employed under the government's flagship rural jobs scheme, Mahatma Gandhi NREGA, would get higher wages to offset inflation. "We have decided to hike the wages as per the rise in consumer price index. This will raise the wages by 17 to 30 percent," Manmohan Singh said at a function to mark the fifth anniversary of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). The gathering...