The rural development ministry has mooted the idea of concurrent evaluation of welfare schemes. Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh has put forward a proposal to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, outlining the proposed concurrent evaluation network to improve the efficiency and Quality of outcomes of all rural development schemes.  The government's annual budget for rural development comes second only to defence. In the current fiscal, the ministry's allocation (including spend on drinking...

-The Times of India The CBI is examining a complaint from the ministry of external affairs that gifts bought by the ministry to be given to foreign dignitaries were allegedly purchased at inflated costs by circumventing rules. Agency sources said they were examining the complaint. "We have not registered any preliminary enquiry (PE) or a regular case (RC) in the matter yet," a CBI officer said.  The MEA had sent the request...

-AFP The world's young increasingly fear a future without jobs, according to a UN report released Monday which highlighted how the 15-30 age group risks becoming the biggest victims of austerity programs.  The young doubt the education they receive will fully arm them for professional life, said the World Youth Report which questioned about 1,000 people for its study.  "Young people questioned the Quality of education they and their peers receive, whether or...

Handloom weavers in Andhra Pradesh are in a crisis brought on by policy blindness and the emphasis on powerlooms. WHEN P. Pulliah, a weaver in the traditional cotton handloom centre of Chirala in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh, describes the sarees he crafts, thread by delicate thread, his face lights up with joy. He animatedly explains that the sarees have a border on both sides. And they are fully embellished, he...

-The Telegraph   A routine road trip from Ranchi to Dhanbad was enough for an aghast senior functionary of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to pull up Jharkhand for illegal mining and exploitation of tribals at the hands of the coal mafia. A source told The Telegraph that NHRC secretary-general Rajiv Sharma had visited the state in January. “On a drive from Ranchi to Dhanbad, he saw tribal children pushing coal-laden cycles uphill. It...