Trade unions and labour rights activists blame the high suicide rate in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, on the practices of the garment industry. TIRUPUR has carved out a niche for itself in the world of garments. Its phenomenal growth in the highly competitive global scenario, particularly in the past two decades, has been made possible by the entrepreneurial spirit of its manufacturers and exporters and the sweat and labour of thousands of...

11 postmen held for taking unauthorised commission Money involved is huge, says official The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday unearthed a major scam in the disbursement of Old Age Pension (OAP) to senior citizens. Besides irregularities in the payout, investigators found that a majority of postmen took Rs. 20 as unauthorised commission from the beneficiaries. After a surprise check, special teams of the Anti-Corruption Branch arrested eleven postmen, including a woman, agency...

A charred piece of earth and some bits of bones are the only signs of a dastardly killing in the name of honour. No other evidence remains of the spine-chilling crime to mar the rustic charm of Maalaipatti village, perched among the green mountains of the Western Ghats in Dindigul district. On July 28, 2008, a few days after being chained in a bathroom and treated like a rabid dog...

A combination of factors led by state policy has enabled the southern State to become a notable achiever with respect to some key indicators of development. In 2001, Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen recorded an eyebrow-raising fact in his book, “Development as Freedom”, that Tamil Nadu and Kerala had both achieved much faster rates of decline in fertility than China had achieved since it introduced its one-child policy. That same year, the international...

In an effort to give a fillip to sale of products made by Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in the State, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) helps the groups market their products at exhibitions and during festival seasons. According to V. Suresh, Assistant General Manager of the bank, for the last three years, the NABARD has been organising exhibitions in Chennai during Navarathri festival. Sales Last year, 28 stalls were put...