-Outlook An RTI exposes how the Sikkim govt has blatantly misutilised funds meant for quake relief Whose Money Is It Anyway! Of the Rs 60.45 crore allocated for construction of roads and bridges, the state government gave only Rs 30 crore Another Rs 52.64 crore was allocated, of which the government again spent only Rs 3 crore On the other hand, the...

-Kafila.org This fact-finding exercise was coordinated by the CENTRE FOR POLICY ANALYSIS. Team members were the human rights activist and former civil servant Harsh Mander; former Director-General of the Border Security Force, E N Rammohan; Professor Kamal Mitra Chenoy of Jawaharlal Nehru University; National Integration Council member John Dayal; senior journalist Sukumar Muralidharan and CPA Director and senior editor Seema Mustafa. Introduction and Overview The first impression of the Muzaffarnagar countryside, now green...

-PTI AGARTALA: India's northeastern state of Tripura achieved the first position in literacy with 94.65 per cent, beating Kerala (93.91 per cent), Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar announced here on Sunday. "Tripura jumped to first position among the states of the country in literacy from the 12th position in the 2001 census and the fourth position in the 2011 census," Sarkar said at a function on the occasion of International Literacy Day. Sarkar...

-The Times of India PUNE: The surplus rainfall recorded by the country so far this season has come down to 11% above normal, as on Friday, from the 17% above normal recorded by end-July. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has attributed the reduced rainfall activity to factors like a continuing absence of an offshore trough along the west coast and a weak monsoon current. "There has been rainfall in most parts of...

-The Business Standard As the southwest monsoon enters the last leg of its four-month journey, 2013 will be remembered as one of the best years in overall quantum and distribution of rainfall across India. More than expected rain so far have pushed up kharif sowing in a big way, which will not only add its bit to gross domestic product (GDP) growth but blunt inflationary pressures. If the intensity is maintained, India...