AK Shukla, arrested on Sunday night, has been charged with criminal conspiracy In a fresh twist to the infamous CMO murder case, which is alleged to be linked to the multi-crore National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam in Uttar Pradesh, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday night arrested the former Chief Medical Officer of Lucknow, A. K. Shukla. He has been charged with criminal conspiracy to eliminate Vinod Kumar...

Soon, differently abled people can book rail tickets online at concessional fares that they are entitled to. At present, differently abled people have to go to railway reservation counters to book tickets if they want to avail the fare concession given by railways. "The railway board is ready with the plan to facilitate online ticket booking for its special passengers," a senior official said. The plan is to issue identity cards with...

-Down to Earth Biometric-based unique identity or Aadhaar is leading to huge problems for people working for the rural employment guarantee scheme and for others receiving welfare benefits. Not only have enrolments been done shoddily but the experience of the pilot projects shows that it is almost impossible to authenticate the work-hardened fingerprints of the poor, find Latha Jishnu and Jyotika Sood. Besides, there is the overwhelming issue of deficient online...

Human rights commission calls for collective efforts to provide healthcare, compensation to victims and kin The National Human Rights Commission has slammed the Centre and state governments for neglecting workers who are suffering from silicosis—an incurable lung disease caused due to inhalation of silica in dust. The reprimand is in the form of a note that followed the commission's fourth review meeting in New Delhi that concluded on May 4. Over...

The chattering classes of urban India are engaged in animated discussions about Didi, scams, policy paralysis , faltering reforms and declining growth. Meanwhile, the farming classes, who haven't seen much reform since the Green Revolution 50 years ago, continue to combine bits of modern technology with their ingenious capacity for 'jugaad' in transforming traditional agriculture. Here are a few examples. The tractor displaced the bullock in ploughing and other farm operations....