The arrest of Suresh Kalmadi on 25 April marked yet another scene in the prolonged drama surrounding the Commonwealth Games held in Delhi in October 2010. Yet the general media focus on Kalmadi may have served to distract attention from the many other acts of omission and commission that mark the sordid history of that extravagantly planned and deeply flawed public show. In these other actions, there are stories of funds...

The Haryana Government has implemented several new schemes for those belonging to weaker sections of society, Public Health Engineering Minister Kiran Choudhry said at Tosham in Bhiwani district on Monday. Addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stone for a chaupal for Backward Classes, she said that the Ambedkar Medhavi Chhatra Yojana had been implemented for talented students belonging to Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes. Under the scheme, scholarships ranging from...

The government is examining the possibility of turning its two important social sector programmes into universal schemes covering the unorganised sector in phases, taking a cue from the successful extension of a health insurance plan to 23 million poor families. The labour ministry will prepare a feasibility plan together with the rural and finance ministries that run the old age pension scheme for the below poverty line people and the Aam...

In a bid to eradicate unemployment from the state, a large part of which has gradually been urbanized over the years, the government plans to introduce an employment scheme that will guarantee jobs for the city poor throughout the year. "Nearly 50% of the state has been urbanized and a large proportion of the population does not have a job. The government plans to introduce an employment guarantee scheme (EGS) for...

Continuing with its social sector agenda, the Union Cabinet is expected to consider a proposal to provide health insurance to all workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The Cabinet will on Thursday consider a proposal to extent the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana to MGNREGS. The scheme, as of now, is applicable only below the poverty line families. Under the scheme implemented in Public Private Partnership mode,...