-The Telegraph The Election Commission has set January 11 as the deadline to cover statues of all political leaders and their party symbols before Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, a decision the CPI called “irrational” today. “The whole work of veiling the statues should be completed by 5pm on 11th January 2012. The district election officer of the districts concerned shall submit to the commission a compliance report in this regard by...

-The Hindu To overcome the delay in payment of wages to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) Workers in Jharkhand, allegedly owing to administrative apathy, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has piloted a project in Jharkhand. Under the project, online authentication and Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) in respect of MGNREGS was conducted in three blocks of three districts. First time in India For the first time in India,...

-Down to Earth   Study shows untouchability and caste bias determine access to health care in rural areas A study on the access to health care services in Gujarat has found that children in rural areas who belong to backward castes are being left out of vaccination drives when compared to children of upper castes. The study conducted in 2011 by Navsarjan, a non-profit, focused on the coverage of polio vaccine campaign in 68...

Salman Khurshid’s proposal to send law school graduates to remote districts for a year should also benefit those who need free legal aid THE UNION law ministry’s proposal to send students to practice for a year in far-flung districts of the country after finishing studies is an excellent idea — and long overdue. But it can be a progressive move only if it is thought through properly. Ways have to be...

-The Economic Times   States owe rural job seekers more than Rs 68 crore in unemployment dole, undermining the effectiveness of the government's flagship rural jobs guarantee scheme that has millions of Workers in its fold. Workers enrolled under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) are entitled to unemployment allowance if they are not provided a job within 15 days of applying for it. Although the allowance is to...