-PTI States have failed to spend Rs 29,760 crore under various flagship programmes during the last fiscal, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said today. He said during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha that Rs 10,993 crore remained unspent under Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and Rs 5,859 crore under Indira Aawas Yojana (IAY). Funds to the tune of Rs 8,919 crore could also not be utilised under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak...

-The Hindu NAGAPATTINAM: When PMK launched its tirade against inter-caste marriages involving Dalit men, political parties came on board to criticize the statements by Ramadoss. Activists and feminist intellectuals say that what was lost in the melee was the voice of Dalit and Vanniyar women, rendered silent by the confines of caste. “Cast in caste, they have become prized trophies to be owned, regulated and guarded by the menfolk of the respective...

-The Hindu Absolutely nothing wrong in funding the channels in a transparent way, says official Raipur: Raman Singh’s BJP government “has paid for favourable news stories” and “regular live coverage” to a host of national and local television channels, an English language newspaper reported. Furthermore, the senior editors of the channels concerned allegedly wrote to the public relations (PR) department of the Chhattisgarh government “negotiating” rates to produce “news stories” and to ensure...

-The Hindu ‘Medical camps are being conducted at all anganwadi centres’ Bijapur: Ramesh Zalki, Principal Secretary, Department of Women and Child Development, has said that in order to address the problem of malnourishment among children in the State, the government has decided to set up 20-bed nutritional rehabilitation centres (NRCs) in every district. “The decision is part of one of the recommendations that the government has accepted following the report submitted by the...

-Pratirodh.com The streets of the obscure town of Pandharkawda in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra have come to life. Hundreds of villagers crowd them for the weekly haat to buy their supplies of vegetables, spices, pulses and tobacco, while farmers throng shops selling seeds, pesticides, manure and farm commodities. Dressed in bright cotton sarees, women haggle with vendors. Even doctors, especially dentists, are having a busy day with long queues of patients...