-The Telegraph Jairam Ramesh’s Union rural development ministry has sanctioned Rs 1,011 crore for the first phase of a drinking water supply project in Bankura. The ministry will request the Union finance ministry to approve Rs 3,000 crore for similar projects in South 24-Praganas and Purulia, sources said. During his visit to Bengal last week, Ramesh had discussed the projects for the three districts with his Bengal counterpart Subrata Mukherjee. Ramesh could not...

The Gujarat Congress Legislature Party has launched a scathing attack on R.K. Raghavan, chairman of the Supreme Court–appointed Special Investigation Team, probing some of the gruesome 2002 Gujarat communal riot massacres. The Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Shaktisinh Gohil, said his party took strong exception to the style of functioning of Mr. Raghavan, who he alleged “blatantly tried to protect Mr. Modi and other accused.” The CLP meeting was held...

-BBC   India's Supreme Court has cancelled 122 telecommunications licences awarded to companies in 2008. The licences were issued by former minister A Raja, who is accused of mis-selling bandwidth in what has been called India's biggest corruption scandal. Mr Raja denies wrongdoing. Government auditors say the scandal cost the country about $40bn (£24.5bn). The judges also ordered a court to decide whether Home Minister P Chidambaram should be investigated. Opposition MPs accuse Mr Chidambaram of...

Baishakhi Ghosh sits at the threshold of her home at Kauri village in Bardhaman district with her new-born son, but breaks into tears as her mother feeds her a sweetmeat — part of the rituals of bringing her first grandchild to the home for the first time. Alternating between wailing and consoling each other, the women of the household of Bhootnath Pal, a farmer who was found hanging from the...

At a time when the outrage over the video showing Andaman’s Jarawa tribals being made to dance in front of tourists is yet to die down, the Orissa SC/ST department is parading people from aborigine tribes for visitors at a state-organised tribal fair that kicked off here on January 26. About 250 tribals, many of them from aborigine communities from across the state, have been brought as “live models” to the...