Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee's prolonged absence from her ministry has cost the exchequer more than Rs 11 lakh over a one-year period. Expenses for travel of five officials between Delhi and Kolkata to meet Mamata for clearing files have cost the Railways Rs 11,23,550. The officials in question are Officer on Special Duty to Railway Minister Gautam Sanyal, Private Secretary Santanu Basu, Executive Director (Public Grievance) J K Saha, Additional PS S...

Some good news awaits the agriculture sector in Bihar. Around 150 potential investors from all over the country met in Patna today, with an aim to invest in the untapped food-processing sector in state. The motive behind the summit was to plan investments in the food-processing sector by boosting the market and database intelligence system. Enhancing crop productivity to ensure availability of the raw material required for the industry and promotion...

JHABUA, India — Inside the drab district hospital, where dogs patter down the corridors, sniffing for food, Ratan Bhuria’s children are curled together in the malnutrition ward, hovering at the edge of starvation. His daughter, Nani, is 4 and weighs 20 pounds. His son, Jogdiya, is 2 and weighs only eight. Landless and illiterate, drowned by debt, Mr. Bhuria and his ailing children have staggered into the hospital ward after falling...

During my fieldwork in Tonk district of Rajasthan, a Dalit family once narrated a ‘miracle’ to me. In 2002, they faced a drought as bad as the chhappani akaal of 1900-02. But at the end of 2002, the Dalit family was pleasantly surprised: they still had some foodgrain left. This, the family members said, was a result of the good relief work done by the Ashok Gehlot government. Similar proactive State...

Dropping her hardline stance on appointment of dalits as cooks in primary schools may soften her image for the ‘janta' ahead of the panchayat polls this year, but Mayawati's sudden move could invite the ire of the state high court. Action, however, will depend on whether a government functionary or a dalit will now come forward to challenge the chief minister's latest diktat. Notably, earlier this year, the UP government approached...