‘No further funds for the job scheme if norms are not met'  Several States, activists oppose new provisions Financial proposals now to be made online The Centre has made construction of the controversial Bharat Nirman Rajiv Gandhi Sewa Kendra mandatory out of funds earmarked for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and warned that States which fail to do so will not receive any money under the scheme which...

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sleuths on Tuesday seized Rs 13.05 crore in cash stacked in sacks and boxes from the house of a relative of a scam-accused official in Guwahati. The house, in Assam's main city, is owned by Amjad Hussain, brother-in-law of RH Khan, one of the main accused in the multi-million rupee financial scam in Assam's North Cachar Hills district. Khan, a deputy director in the state social welfare...

A UNESCO dossier examines the problems faced by the original tribal inhabitants of the Andaman islands. SINCE the 1780s, a variety of players have vied for space in the Andaman archipelago. Today, apart from the three wings of the country's armed forces, others including rice farmers, timber merchants and academics are trying to push out its original inhabitants from their traditional habitats. For the first time in the past 150 years,...

Corruption and human rights issues continue to be neglected by companies despite ongoing interest in United Nations-led efforts to ensure ethical corporate conduct, according to the findings of a new survey by a global initiative that seeks to foster responsible business practices. The UN Global Compact surveyed a total of 1,044 businesses in 97 countries, representing nearly 20 per cent of all of the initiative’s participants last year, and the...

The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry on Tuesday approved a scheme for providing highly subsidised sanitary napkins to adolescent girls in the rural areas to promote menstrual hygiene. The scheme, to be launched in 150 districts across the country in the first phase, will cost Rs.150 crore for the current financial year. Approved by the Mission Steering Group – the highest decision-making body – of the National Rural Health...