-The Hindu Business Line     Whatever the criticisms against the UPA government may be, its effort to provide employment to large sections of the population under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act must be lauded. Yet, after the initial success of the scheme, the enthusiasm of the Central government itself seems to have diminished in its second term in power. How palpable is the shift to lower gear? Representatives of the UPA...

-The Business Standard Plan panel may skip annual meet with CMs in view of polls With general elections only a few months away, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia might skip the customary one-to-one meetings with some chief ministers, while finalising the annual Plans for states, for 2014-15. According to a senior official, chief ministers usually avoid coming personally to discuss their annual plan ahead of a general election. The commission has...

-Newsclick.in With sixty percent children malnourished in the state, the implementation of the Integrated Child Development Services, the largest scheme to provide nutrition to children in the country, is nothing but a sham. Sitting outside her semi-pucca house in Bilgram block, Kasturi says, "My children get five fistful of panjiri once a month from the Aanganwadi Centre." Thirty-three year-old Kasturi has never, in her parents' village or her in-law's village seen an...

-The Times of India INDORE: A 35-year-old landless dalit labourer from Madhya Pradesh's Dewas is building a toilet to save his eight-year marriage. Dev Karan has been given a January 10 deadline by a court to build a toilet if he wants his wife back, who filed for divorce four years ago. Dev is sinking into debt to rescue his marriage despite the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government launching the Maryada scheme in...

-Live Mint India needs to move away from wild swings in making environment policies The Western Ghats, spread over six states in western and southern India, cover an area of approximately 165,000 sq. km. They are home to a unique ecosystem in the country that is under threat from human activities. Nearly 59% of this area has been exploited: habitation, plantation or agriculture. Only 41% of the area is a natural...