Finance minsiter Pranab Mukherjee has favoured a balanced approach on the issue of displacement of tribals due to mining projects, saying that solution does not lie in stopping these projects altogether. “Answer does not lie in the companies stopping mining activities. Answer lies in providing alternatives to those displaced... in what form we can compensate them and make them beneficiary of economic development,” Mr Mukherjee said at a coal summit on...

Despite erratic and unevenly distributed monsoon this year, the government has predicted that food production in the state will touch 90.94 lakh tonnes in 2010-11. Agriculture minister Umesh V Katti on Tuesday said this year's production will surpass the target of 87.27 lakh tonnes. "This will be made possible by implementing technologies like precision farming and timely distribution of quality seeds," he pointed out. EXPERT PANEL ON CARDS The government will soon set...

As the Prime Minister hands out the first official AADHAAR numbers in the tribal district of Nandurbar on Wednesday, civil society activists in the capital are questioning the very basis of the ambitious Unique Identification (UID) scheme. “Even basic procedures have not been followed before launching such a massive project,” said Usha Ramanathan, an expert in law, poverty and civil rights. “The people of India, as well as Parliamentarians need to...

Tembhali, a remote village with a population of 1,552 in the Satpura range of tribal-dominated Nandurbar district, wears a festive look. It has undergone a total facelift with tarred roads, painted walls, banners and posters — largely of the ruling Congress party — and uninterrupted power supply. The reason for this makeover: the village will host the launch of the Centre’s much-vaunted Unique Identification programme, or Aadhaar, by Prime Minister Manmohan...

Soon, the National Food Security Act  will become law. The ruling United Progressive Alliance flagship social security programme of providing every Below the Poverty Line (BPL) family with 25 kg of rice or wheat at Rs 3 per kg per month is a welcome step to alleviate some of the human trauma that haunts the poor in our country. The government also hopes that the Act will secure freedom from...