After a sluggish start, the south-west monsoon is on the upswing, covering newer areas by the hour. Director-General of India, Meteorological Department, L.S. Rathore told The Hindu on Sunday that the system had already covered about 40 per cent of the total geographical area of the country and the coverage could go up to at least 50 per cent by Monday evening. The rapid progress means the deficiency of rainfall at the...

Perennial Jamni river will be linked to nearby lakes to assist in irrigation The Madhya Pradesh government claims to have launched the country's first ever river-lake linking project in the water-scarce Bundelkhand region. The Harpura irrigation and river-lake link project, launched in the Tikamgarh district, will be implemented under the Centre's Rs.7266 crore Bundelkhand package. It will link the perennial Jamni river to the nearby lakes and water bodies built during the...

-The Hindustan Times Indian high courts were supposed to deliver justice in Right To Information (RTI) cases. But, they have themselves enforced rules that make implementation of the transparency law --- RTI Act --- difficult.     A study done by a government institute ---- Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration --- aimed at evaluating efficacy and reasonableness of rules prescribed under RTI Act finds that many high courts have prescribed rules to...

-The Pioneer Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan here on Saturday announced that farmers in the State will get interest-free loans. After ending his 24-hour fast observed to protest the hike in fertiliser prices over the last one year, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan told mediapersons, “This zero per cent rate of interest would be applicable for loans given to farmers since April 1 this year.” When the Congress was in power, farmers used...

-The Telegraph An “urban-rural divide” seemed to unfold within the government today as rural development minister Jairam Ramesh appeared to take on his urban development counterpart Kamal Nath after the Centre included Chhindwara under the Integrated Action Plan for Maoist-affected areas. According to the home ministry, Chhindwara, Kamal Nath’s constituency in Madhya Pradesh, is not under Maoist influence. Ramesh said some districts not affected by the Maoist menace had been brought under the...