-The Hindu In what is regarded as a major administrative move, the Planning Commission has cleared the transfer of the Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana(PMAGY) to the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has conveyed the in principle approval of transfer of the scheme to Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh saying that the PMAGY had a synergy with...

-The Hindu   PMO holds talks with Magsaysay Award winner Rajendra Singh The Prime Minister's Office has asked Magsaysay Award winner Rajendra Singh – better known as Waterman -- to re-consider his resignation from the National Ganga River Basin Authority. Mr. Singh and his Authority colleagues Ravi Chopra and R. H. Siddiqi had quit two days ago in protest against alleged indifference of the Central Government towards protection of the Ganga river. Mr. Singh has...

The water used to cool the Rawatbhata reactor was pumped back into Chambal river. Before and during my pregnancy, I drank the tap water supplied to us from the same river. I didn't go even so far as to boil this water. Nothing went wrong. Kudankulam has been in the news and how! Little did I imagine in 2002 that this remote area of southern Tamil Nadu where there are more...

‘It has become a toothless organisation, which hasmade no difference to neglect of the river' Claiming that the National Ganga River Basin Authority has become a toothless organisation which has made no change to the government's neglect of the national river, three of its non-governmental members have submitted their resignations to the Prime Minister, chairperson of the body. “In three years of the NGRBA's existence, we have only had two meetings,” said...

-Economic and Political Weekly Strict implementation of NHRC guidelines for investigation into fake “encounters” is a must. The killing of five suspected bank robbers in Chennai on 23 February by police officers tasked with apprehending them looks suspiciously like yet another case of a fake “encounter”. News reports following the killing have brought out various inconsistencies in the claim of the police that they fired in self-defence.   After directives from the National Human...