Union minister for rural development Jairam Ramesh​ approved a plan to build a network of roads in rural Bihar under the ministry’s Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, clearing some of the hurdles that were holding up the construction. The ministry’s empowered panel on the rural road programme cleared the revised “core network” of roads for Bihar on 14 September. The core network includes all rural roads necessary to provide basic access to...

-The Times of India   Environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan has done well to recast India`s position on climate change. In a signi-ficant departure from her predecessor, Jairam Ramesh, she has rightly emphasised equity as the key principle for future climate negotiations. Given that we cannot get to zero emissions right away with present-day technologies, the individual Indian should have as much right to carbon space as the individual American or European. At...

-The Business Standard   India made it clear today that it wanted extension of the current Kyoto Protocol on emission cuts, but said it would not accept any further legally binding emission framework. “Before we decide on a new legally binding framework,” said environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan, “it is important to ensure that the existing framework does not crumble. There is at present a legally binding framework (Kyoto Protocol). We want it to...

-The Times of India   Migration of rural Tripura population to urban and semi-urban areas has shown a sharp rise during the last 10 years, the growth of urban population in the state recording an increase of over 9.12% than the preceding decade. According to 2011 census report, the total population in the state stands at 36,71,032 currently, with the growth of urban population registered at 26.18% in 2011, as compared to 17.06%...

-The Times of India   The government has finally released the draft of the National Food Security Bill, and has put it up for comments till end of September. Only 46% of people in rural India and 28% in urban India will get 7 kg of foodgrain every month. Another 29% of those in rural India and 22% in urban India will be provided 3 kg of foodgrain per person. Grains to...