Vigilance officers probing misappropriation of over Rs 2 crore from funds meant to build schools in Bokaro district today revealed how a schoolteacher siphoned off money and kept his opponents at bay by threatening them with punishment postings in Naxalite-hit areas. DSPs Narendra Singh, Jayant Kumar, Dhaneshwar Ram and inspectors Shashi Bhushan and Tej Narain, who arrived here from Ranchi two days ago following a high court censure over the tardy...

The spectre of a global food crisis has reared its head again. Soaring corn prices, which on Monday recorded their biggest one-day rise since 1973, have triggered fears of a return to the turmoil of 2007-2008. Far-reaching measures are needed to prevent a recurrence. Rising prices over the last decade are in part the result of burgeoning demand from emerging markets such as China and India. The emergence of commodities as...

The Aadhaar or UID project has grave implications for every Indian. It will enable the government to profile every citizen and track their movements and transactions. There is no guarantee that intimate personal information -- pre-existing illnesses, romantic relationships etc -- won't be shared with other agencies, warns Praful Bidwai. An elaborate charade has begun with the rolling out of the first Aadhaar unique identity numbers in a tribal district of Maharashtra by...

There’s no doubt about it, this is incredible India all right. Where else in the world would you get judges of a high court treating a deity as litigant in a legal case? And then, because the said deity, otherwise referred to as Ram Lalla in the judgment, is to be treated as a minor (was this the only reason He did not appear in court himself?) where else would...

Coal companies in the public and the private sector should share either their profits or their royalty with project-affected people, Union Minister of State (Independent charge) Sriprakash Jaiswal said. Talking to the media after addressing a seminar on “Indian coal sector: issues and prospects” here on Monday, he said this would become law once the new mining policy was finalised. When asked for his views on this issue, he said, “We...