I have not read the Private Member's Bill on media regulation that Meenakshi Natarajan was scheduled to move in Parliament last week so I am not in a position to comment upon it, but I am certainly of the opinion that the media (both print and electronic) needs to be regulated. Since my ideas on this issue have generated some controversy they need to be clarified. I want regulation of the...

-The Times of India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to discuss the foodgrain storage and crop situation with food minister K V Thomas and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday amid news of a bumper harvest this year and overflowing granaries.  The meeting, slated for Monday, was postponed, and is likely to discuss options before the government to offload the grains in the central pool that are expected to reach record...

Depletion of groundwater and its increasing pollution could be leading to a silent, nationwide public health crisis as aquifers in many stretches across India are becoming unfit for drinking, according to the government's own figures. Data submitted in Parliament by the water resources ministry on Monday shows groundwater in pockets of 158 out of the 639 districts has gone saline. It says in pockets across 267 districts, groundwater contains excess fluoride;...

-PTI Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh today said about Rs 1 "I am going to announce in Parliament on large scale expansion in the work schedule of MGNREGA by May 8. (Planning Commission member) Mihir Shah-headed expert committee recommendations are accepted (in this regard)," Ramesh said at a press conference here. "One of the important additions is Souchalaya (toilet system), in which Rs 1,200 crore could be allotted, he said and added...

-Express News Service Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal on Tuesday said that a national-level task force would be set up to frame guidelines to protect the interest of severely disabled children. Disability activists had last week raised objections to a clause in the Right to Education Act that gives the option of home-based schooling for children with severe disabilities. In a meeting with activists on Tuesday, Sibal assured that all...