In a decision termed “historic” and “revolutionary” by maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, the State government has changed its policy on water allocation, giving priority to agriculture over industry. Mr. Chavan announced the decision in the Legislative Council, where the controversial maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2011 was passed on Wednesday. Reversing its earlier move to divert irrigation water for industrial use, Mr. Chavan said that as per the changed...

"We cannot have two Indias. You want the world to believe we are the strongest emerging economy, but millions of poor and hungry people are a stark contrast," the Supreme Court said on Wednesday pointing to a huge gap between poverty eradication measures and spread of the problem. The court's anguish was palpable. A Bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Deepak Verma asked the government why additional subsidised food grains be...

What is the benefit when godowns are full and people are starving? ‘People who starve are also citizens of this country…they cannot be denied foodgrains' ‘How can the Planning Commission justify such a meagre amount to determine BPL status?' The Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned the Centre's approach to eradication of malnutrition and its failure to take steps to prevent starvation deaths in certain pockets of the country. A Bench comprising Justice Dalveer Bhandari...

The Jaitapur nuclear power project has drawn blood even before its boundary wall is ready. One person was killed in police firing on Monday, which by all accounts was unnecessary to disperse peaceful protesters. There was arson in Madban, at the site’s centre, which gutted some grass and a part of a tiny makeshift shed belonging to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India. The police went berserk and intruded into...

In a bid to weed out frauds, the government has decided that all its employees should have the Aadhar Unique Identification Number (UID) to draw their salary. maharashtra will be the first state in the country to implement the system. The UID will have demographic and biometric information of an individual. The government, which has nearly 37 lakh staffers, hopes that the system will stop corruption among unscrupulous employees, who have...