-The Hindu Child Rights Commission tells SC that 1.47 lakh children lost a parent during the pandemic The Supreme Court is worried for children, some as young as six year old, whose parents suddenly died of COVID-19, leaving behind unpaid debts, mortgages, loans and insurance premiums. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has so far identified 1,47,773 children who have lost one parent and another 10,600 who have become orphans...

-The Hindu Genuine labourers not getting their dues while money keeps changing hands due to collusion of unscrupulous elements, says report Fake job cards, widespread corruption, late uploading of muster rolls, and huge pending payments for wages and materials are among the issues hampering the MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) scheme, apart from insufficient funding, according to a Parliamentary Standing Committee report submitted to the Lok Sabha today. The...

-Newsclick.in Slope destabilisation, soil erosion and sequestered carbon loss have increased, according to Ravi Chopra. Noted Dehradun-based environmentalist Ravi Chopra recently resigned as the chairman of the Supreme Court (SC)-appointed High Powered Committee (HPC) overseeing the environmental impact of the Narendra Modi government’s Rs 12,000 crore 889-km Char Dham highway widening project in Uttarakhand.  The Char Dham project, one of the largest road-widening projects in the Himalayan region, intends to connect the four...

-The New Indian Express Having a uniform rate will also be convenient in terms of calculations and indexation in one go for the entire country rather than different States/UTs bringing in their own dynamics, the report said NEW DELHI:  A parliamentary standing committee has flagged the disparity in wage rates in various states under the rural employment scheme MGNREGS, calling it baffling and unjustified. While in states like Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Jharkhand, the...

-The Hindu Cabinet clears ₹2.17 lakh cr. in additional Central and State funding to achieve target Having achieved only 55% of its target, the Centre has extended its deadline to provide pucca houses to all families in rural India by two years, to 2024. In a decision taken by the Cabinet on Wednesday, the flagship rural housing scheme, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin, will be provided ₹2.17 lakh crore in additional Central and State...