While agreeing in principle on the need to have an effective anti-terrorism mechanism on the lines of the proposed National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), almost all States on Monday emphasised the need to make them an “effective stakeholder'' in all aspects of counter-terrorism domain. At a day-long meeting of the State police chiefs, Chief Secretaries and Home Secretaries, presided over by Union Home Secretary R. K. Singh, top officials wanted more...

The US has dragged India to the World Trade Organization for banning poultry products in alleged violation of trade rules, but Indian officials say the country is ready to defend its measures in the formal consultations expected to begin soon.  India claims that the import ban is aimed at preventing avian influenza, but it has not given scientific evidence in line with international standards on avian-influenza control, US Trade Representative Ron...

-The Indian Express Exactly a month after Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit, her government has allowed transportation of PDS rice to Tripura through her country. The Bangladesh government has approved the use of Ashuganj port as well as the Ashuganj-Agartala road across the international border to transport the first consignment of 5,000 tonnes of rice in the next couple of weeks, which will save Food Corporation of India (FCI) a circuitous...

-The Business Standard Moving forward on sanitation will require big ideas National shame” is how most people, including some senior government functionaries, often refer to the pervasive practice of open defecation. Yet, the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC), launched in 1991 with the noble objective of providing access to hygienic toilets for all by 2012, receives only scant attention from the government. The latest assessment indicates that as many as 22 states will...

Even as the Centre prepares to implement its proposed national Food Security Act, States have expressed their unhappiness about the contours of the Bill, particularly the cap on the number of beneficiaries which will automatically reduce their allocation of subsidised foodgrains. Requirement of funds, more foodgrains for distribution under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), and paucity of storage capacity was a common refrain during the two-day conference of State Food...