-The Hindu   A Central team of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) has praised the implementation of various health care and nutrition schemes in Rajasthan and expressed hope that the constant decline in infant and maternal mortality rates would help improve the status of health indicators in the State. The 12-member team, divided into two sub-groups, visited Chittorgarh and Barmer districts and reviewed the progress of initiatives taken under the NRHM, mid-day...

An independent study says some 250 thermal power projects that have got clearances may be meant just to grab land and water resources. THERE have been a growing number of headlines that speak of an energy crisis and the energy deficit in India in the last few years. The disparities in the demand-supply scenario, the increasing prospects of disruptions in the global supply of fuel and the consequent results of higher...

-Yahoo.com   Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today described India as the "dirtiest and filthiest" country in the world where people with mobile phones go out to answer the "call of nature".   The comment was the latest addition to the minister's repertoire of controversial statements on a gamut of subjects ranging from education and research to sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and sanitation. Ramesh, who last month said open defecation was a "blot" and a...

-The Telegraph   The Union government today pledged Rs 100 crore to kickstart a fund that would seek to mobilise innovation focused on solving problems for sections of the population at the bottom of India’s socio-economic pyramid. The National Innovation Council (NIC), a government think tank, which has proposed the India Inclusive Innovation Fund has said it is designed to address concerns that existing innovation has often focused more on the wants of...

-The Hindu   “In a world of growing complexities and uncertainties, not every decision by the government is likely to be the most optimal. The possibility of institutional failures, oversight and ignorance impacting the decision-making process cannot be ruled out,” said Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. He was addressing a concluding function here on Wednesday to mark the celebration of 150 years of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India (CAG). Mr. Mukherjee pointed out that...