-Outlook An RTI exposes how the Sikkim govt has blatantly misutilised funds meant for quake relief Whose Money Is It Anyway! Of the Rs 60.45 crore allocated for construction of roads and bridges, the state government gave only Rs 30 crore Another Rs 52.64 crore was allocated, of which the government again spent only Rs 3 crore On the other hand, the...

Bihar Government's programme of distributing bicycles to school girls may be a modest intervention but is leading to big changes. A new research-based paper, brought out in August 2013, corroborates the success of the programme and testifies that it is leading to improved school enrollment of girls and arresting their dropout rates (See links below to read full paper and earlier studies on the subject).   Based on econometric and statistical models,...

-PTI HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh government has decided to seek financial assistance of Rs 1,000 crore from the World Bank for reconstruction works in cyclone-devastated districts of the state. The state cabinet met here today and approved a proposal in this regard, according to Information and Public Relations Minister D K Aruna. Briefing newspersons after the cabinet meet, she said consecutive cyclones in 2009-10 left a trail of destruction in the coastal districts and...

-PTI MUMBAI: The demand for foodgrain warehousing is expected to grow by 5-6 per cent annually in the next five years, according to a report by Rabobank. The growth will be driven by a range of factors, including the government focus on food security, current storage space shortage and the recently announced National Food Security Bill, Rabobank analyst Vaishali Chopra said. "The country must see improvements to its existing storage system as well...

-The Hindu     Concrete structures come up under Indiramma housing scheme CHERIAL (WARANGAL DT., Andhra Pradesh): The lifestyle and habits in villages are fast changing and so also, the physical outlook. The beautiful, typical and old model houses are replaced by concrete buildings, partly thanks to the Indiramma housing, flagship programme of the State government. Every village boasted of houses of different kinds - thatched roof houses, tiled houses, Chathurashala Bhavanthi and ‘Gadi' or...