-Hindustan Times A migrant labourer not long ago, 37-year-old Sitaram Majhi is now a successful farmer. As Odisha’s agricultural fields starve for water due to drought conditions this year, Majhi never had a problem watering his crop in Kharamal village in Bargarh district’s parched Paikmal block, more than 500 km from Bhubaneswar. Equipped with chahala – a small traditional water harvesting structure – and a vermi-compost pit the three-acre farm, on which he...
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Centre to eliminate role of NGOs in mid-day meal scheme in rural areas
-PTI NEW DELHI: The Centre is expected to virtually eliminate the role of NGOs in preparing mid-day meal for children especially in rural areas, as per the new guidelines under the Food Security Act 2013. The government is expected to communicate to the states soon about the rules framed and ensure that NGOs have little presence in the scheme because the schools in rural areas are adequately supported for kitchens and other...
More »And now, a PDS jute bag scam -Devesh K Pandey
-The Hindu Government sources told The Hindu that at PDS packaging centres, new unbranded bags were being replaced with used ones. Jute bags meant for packaging of foodgrains under the Public Distribution System (PDS) allegedly provided their manufacturers — in league with some officials of procuring State government agencies, quality insurance inspectors and middlemen — an opportunity to siphon off thousands of crores in government revenue. So serious is the scam that the...
More »SC agrees to Rs 1,300 tax on polluting trucks -Dhananjay Mahapatra
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: In a bid to reduce the capital's high air pollution levels, the Supreme Court on Friday said it would order levying of a pollution tax of Rs 1,300 on heavy trucks and Rs 700 on light commercial vehicles to deter the smoke-spewing vehicles from entering the city. The court said it would pronounce the order on Monday and review the pollution situation in four months. The...
More »Mid-day meals rules lay stress on quality, regularity -Smriti Kak Ramachandran
-The Hindu The Centre notified the mid-day meals rules on Thursday, making running quality tests and sticking to nutritional standards mandatory. The State governments will be held accountable for non-delivery of service. The exhaustive guidelines to be followed by the States come days after 80 children fell ill after being served milk in a school in Agra. If a school fails to serve food to students for three consecutive school days or five...
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