-The Telegraph New Delhi: Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today asked every state to "follow" the Bihar model of linking housing benefits to toilets as a possible solution to the chronic problem of poor sanitation in Indian villages. The Union minister's praise, weeks after he had accused Narendra Modi of being a copycat toilet crusader, appeared to be aimed at giving a leg-up to chief minister Nitish Kumar, a potential ally for...
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To India, just for research-Basant Kumar Mohanty
-The Telegraph New Delhi: Top-notch foreign universities are looking to set foot in India to do research but not to open degree programmes, a trend local academics allege is aimed at identifying and luring away Indian talent instead of grooming it. The latest to join the bandwagon is the University of Chicago. It today announced plans for an "India Centre" in Delhi that will start operating from March and look to start...
More »Women in the forefront of fighting climate change through the ‘gola’ -Ajitha Menon
-Women's Feature Service The ‘gola' or grain basket, built on elevated ground in Goyadham village in Sunderban's South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, is central to the food security of several households here. As Sofia Bibi, 45, says, "The grain is protected from the recurrent flooding and storms and we are ensured of a regular supply when there is no agricultural work during the months of September to November and March to...
More »With the PDS gambit, Raman Singh hopes to checkmate Congress-Gargi Parsai
-The Hindu BJP Chief Minister Raman Singh is the face of the reformed public distribution system in Chhattisgarh and indeed, he is still banking on it for a third consecutive term despite the anti-incumbency factor against several MLAs and a few ministers in his council. In his recent vikas yatra, he showcased development and focussed on the path-breaking Public Distribution System (PDS) reforms that were dovetailed into the Chhattisgarh Food Security Act...
More »Mega land acquisition by Bengal for coal blocks -Rohit Khanna & Suman Chakraborti
-The Times of India KOLKATA: The West Bengal Mineral Development & Trading Corporation Ltd will acquire around 2,800 hectares of land for three coal blocks in Burdwan, one of the largest land acquisitions by any state-run agency since Trinamool Congress came to power in Bengal in May 2011. The corporation-which has already been pulled up by the coal ministry for delay in the project's execution-needs to take 1186.83 hectares for the Ichhapur...
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