It is the 21st century version of the classic rabbit and tortoise story. Last weekend, a group of cyclists decided to race against Jet-BlueAirlines in Los Angeles when one of its busiest highways was shut down for construction and renovation. To help people get across the town fast, JetBlue started a special flight service. A group of cyclists decided to challenge the airlines to a bikeversus-airlines race. It turned out...
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Don't Curb NREGS ( Times Of India)
Though it remains susceptible to leakages and can do with greater oversight, the National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme (NREGS) appears to have boosted rural incomes by providing job seekers at least 100 days' guaranteed labour every financial year. That's why the Union rural development ministry's reported advisory to states to 'informally' suspend NREGS operations during peak farming season isn't a very good idea. For starters, the move would be legally...
More »Public utilities elude the RTI net. The cloak of privacy protects companies by Shonali Ghosal
WITH GOVERNMENT agencies like the CBI, NIA and NATGRID having escaped the RTI scanner, publicprivate ventures too are trying to slink away even as activists rally to include them under the Act. After the Central Information Commission (CIC) ruled on 30 May that Mumbai International Airport (Private) Limited (MIAL) is a public authority, the company was set to be the first Public- private Partnership (PPP) to be brought under RTI....
More »Nexus ails Assam healthcare by Daulat Rahman
An unholy nexus between various healthcare providers, including doctors and private hospitals, has become a stumbling block in delivering benefits to the people at a time when Dispur is pumping in huge funds to bring improvement in the health sector. This was revealed in a multiple-stage survey conducted by Consumer Unity & Trust Society International, a reputed NGO. The survey has found that the government’s various welfare schemes like providing free medicines...
More »Lockdown And After by Arindam Mukherjee
The strike at the Maruti Suzuki plant shows workers’ rights is still a simmering issue Spanner In The... * Labour disputes/strikes down from 250 in ’04-05 to under 100 * Strike by 3,000 Maruti workers found support from 65 unions across companies * Trade unions assert workers’ right to form a union, or to decide which union to join * Ashok Leyland, Hyundai, Honda Motorcycles, GM among those that have...
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