Over 11,000 acres of land has been brought under organic farming in Punjab and Haryana under a scheme sponsored by the Union Government. While 6,050 acres has so far come under organic farming in Punjab, Haryana too is not lagging behind as 5,000 acre has been brought under organic farming. To promote organic farming in Punjab and Haryana, farmers are being provided technological inputs including training and farm-level advisory services according...

The Central Information Commission decides to appeal against a judgment of the Delhi High Court that threatens to disrupt its smooth functioning. SHAILESH GANDHI, a Central Information Commissioner, recently said the Right to Information (RTI) Act faced a serious threat from the government and the judiciary. His warning came in the context of the woefully inadequate government-sanctioned resources and the number of stay orders issued by High Courts on the...

Several property dealers, unknown government officials booked  ‘Some property dealers and colonisers allegedly acquired agricultural land' ‘Conversation of agricultural land for residential purposes is not allowed' Several property dealers and unknown government officials have been booked by the Anti-Corruption Branch of the Delhi Government for allegedly carving out residential plots on agricultural land. The case pertains to illegal conversion of land in and around Narela in Outer Delhi, but similar violations across the...

“With Delhi having a malnutrition rate of 47 per cent among the urban poor and 35 per cent in the city, the rate of malnutrition is far worse than even sub-Sahara,” stated experts at a consultation on “Declining quality of life of the young child in Delhi' organised by non-government organisation Delhi Forces in the Capital earlier this week. The consultation follows a Jan Sunvai, a collaborative effort of Delhi Forces...

One looks forward to the Finance Minister's budget speech with a hope that it spells some new major initiatives and schemes for development, and that it might promise any major allocation of resources to any sector, besides fresh tax proposals. In the case of education sector, one might feel disappointed at the proposals made in the Union budget for 2010-11 on both counts. No new initiatives are proposed; no major...