Central allocation for the Mahatama Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) has been falling in recent years, with this year recording the steepest decline. Money released for the scheme fell from Rs 35,242 crore last year to Rs 21,441 crore this year, while expenditure has gone down from Rs 39,000 crore last year to Rs 20,000 crore as of January-end. The average workdays under the scheme, which provides a legal entitlement...

-The Hindu   The Rajasthan Cabinet on Monday put its seal of approval on a controversial decision to give khatedari rights to over 30,000 farmers occupying the custodian land in Alwar, Bharatpur, Hanumangarh and Sriganganagar districts, vacated mostly be those driven out of the State during the Partition, by paying a nominal regularisation fee. The farmers, whose ancestors were allotted the custodian land, were earlier required to pay 25 per cent of the...

-The Hindu   National convention brings to light cases of police atrocity unknown to many   On July 6 this year a large number of men and a few minor boys were arrested and put behind bars in Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh after their protest against alleged disrespect to the Holy Quran by the local police turned violent. However, Subhashini Ali, vice-president of the All India Democratic Women's Association, said on Wednesday that...

Those living in the ravines of Dholpur love two things the most - their moustaches and arms. Grown up amidst the fear of bandits, people residing in this region say that keeping various arms at home was a 'compulsion' earlier but gradually it has become a 'status symbol' for them. Moving ahead, some of them have no hesitation in gifting arms varying from rifles to pistols to their would be...

-The Times of India   Born in Parliament, the right to education (RTE) is now being nurtured by children who want to make it a reality in every part of the country. On Children's Day, students from different states related their struggles and successes in bringing their friends to school and teachers to the classroom. They demanded hygienic mid-day meals for students and also raised their voice against gender discrimination. These little...