-The Hindu   For the first time, the 62-year old Election Commission has ordered the photographing of all voters of Manipur on January 28, when the State goes to the polls, in order to prevent rigging and impersonation. Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi and Election Commissioners V.S. Sampath and H.S. Brahma took the decision on Thursday at Imphal, where they reviewed the poll preparedness with State government officials and representatives of political parties....

-The Economic Times   States owe rural job seekers more than Rs 68 crore in unemployment dole, undermining the effectiveness of the government's flagship rural jobs guarantee scheme that has millions of workers in its fold. Workers enrolled under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) are entitled to unemployment allowance if they are not provided a job within 15 days of applying for it. Although the allowance is to...

State governments in north India have put their agriculture officials on alert with the yellow rust disease affecting the winter wheat crop in parts of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. The fungal disease forms yellow stripes on leaves, hindering photosynthesis and leading to stunted growth and shrivelled grain. India needs a bumper wheat crop this year to meet growing demand in ration shops as well as in the open market. The Haryana agriculture...

-PTI Ahead of elections in five states, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared a proposal to fill pending vacancies in Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories in the central government, a move that will benefit around 50,000 people. The proposal, discussed and approved in the Cabinet meeting held here this morning, comes soon after the government decision to allow 4.5 per cent reservation to the minorities within the OBC quota. Sources said a...

-IANS For 25 years, Mohammad Ikram worked day and night in Saudi Arabia to fund the education of his four sons back home here, waiting for the day they would be able to stand on their own feet. But they dropped out of school and ruined his hopes forever. He is just one of many men in Azamgarh who left their families to eke out a living and support the education of...