After being mired in controversies across the nation over multi-crore scams, the MGNREGA scheme hasn’t quite made headway in Bulandshahr district’s Anupshahr yet, say Bhamati Sivapalan and Yamini Deenadayalan “MGNREGA is a flop in Uttar Pradesh,” extended NGO worker Manish Sharma, as small talk, at the block development office of Anupshahr in the Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh. Despite having been in force since 2005, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment...

Child malnutrition in Gulbarga and Bijapur districts is a blot on Karnataka's image. Ba Ba Basavanna Anganwadi Hogona Avarekaalu Tinnona Ah, Aaa, Ee, Eee, Bariyona Mane Kadege Hogona (Come, Come, Basavanna Let's go to the anganwadi Let us eat beans And write A, B, C, D, And head towards home.) As Savitri Nimbad sings this ditty, the more than 20 children seated in a circle around her repeat each line in shrill voices. Almost all of them are between three and...

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   In what could spell major trouble for TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu, the AP High Court on Monday directed the CBI, Enforcement Directorate (ED) and state police to independently probe the allegations that he and his associates amassed wealth by plundering public assets. The court was responding to a petition filed last month by the late CM YS Rajasekhara Reddy's widow and YSR Congress MLA, Vijayamma. All...

-The Hindu   With a view to laying down guidelines for disposal of mercy petitions, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Centre to file a comprehensive affidavit giving details of all mercy petitions filed by death row convicts pending before the President of India and the Governors of various States. A Bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and S.J. Mukhopadhaya, while granting four weeks to the Additional Solicitor-General Harin Raval for filing the...