Stones will be thrown at a tree that is loaded, not the one that is barren, says social activist Various drafts of the Bill to be discussed Civil society members also asked to look at government draft In their first meeting, the government nominees on the joint drafting committee of the Lokpal Bill on Saturday agreed to take on board the latest version of the draft Jan Lokpal Bill tabled by Anna Hazare. At...

The union Finance minister welcomed the gesture made by veteran BJP leader L K Advani for assuring the party’s support to the Lokpal Bill when tabled in the Parliament Union Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said India would endorse the UN convention on graft which the country signed in 2005. “India will ratify the UN convention on graft. There is a long legal procedure which is needed to be followed,” the...

The scheme has reduced rural migration and promoted financial inclusion, but needs to create more durable assets. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) – the only government social welfare scheme named after the other Gandhi, not belonging to Nehru-Gandhi family – has recently completed five years. The performance of the scheme, considered a major pillar of UPA government's strategy of inclusive growth, has been a matter of debate. The...

Extreme poverty and clamour for firewood have forced some people in Nayagram into extreme occupations. One such is gathering kolmipoka, an insect with medicinal value After walking almost 30km along rutted roads since the morning, middle-aged Bonchu Nayek returns to his humble home, a two-room hut, as darkness descends on Nayagram—one of West Bengal’s poorest villages—with his day’s earning of Rs10. Nayek, whose forefathers were hunters, belongs to the Lodha-Sabar tribe. With...

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s son Avijit Mukherjee, who is contesting from Nalhati in Birbhum district as a Congress candidate in the West Bengal assembly elections, has assets worth more than Rs 5 crore jointly with his wife. Avijit who filed his nomination on Tuesday stated in his affidavits that he had movable assets worth Rs 58.2 lakh. These include a Maruti 800 car, an army Mahindra jeep and a revolver...