-Frontline Two draft Bills on the Tribal Sub-Plan and the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan raise hopes of granting these decades-old schemes statutory status and ensuring allocation of funds in the Central and State budgets for their implementation. IN a significant legislative move, the Union government's Ministry of Tribal Affairs released a draft Bill for the implementation of the long-neglected Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP), a special programme mandated by the Planning Commission to benefit the...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: Environment and forest minister Veerappa Moily on Wednesday rolled back a major hurdle in the forest clearance process for projects like roads, transmission lines and pipelines that pass through villages and forest land, reintroduced in July 2013 by his predecessor Jayanthi Natarajan. The environment ministry has clarified on January 15 that linear projects would be able to get a forest clearance without procuring the consent of all...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: The rift between the Prime Minister's Office and the Congress is once again out in the open over passing of a landmark legislation to prevent diversion of funds earmarked for Scheduled Castes/Tribes, a core constituency that Congress has lost steadily. The latest bone of contention - the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan and Tribal Sub Plan Bill 2013 - is ready for the consideration of the Cabinet. While...

-The Hindu Business Line     Whatever the criticisms against the UPA government may be, its effort to provide employment to large sections of the population under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act must be lauded. Yet, after the initial success of the scheme, the enthusiasm of the Central government itself seems to have diminished in its second term in power. How palpable is the shift to lower gear? Representatives of the UPA...

-The Hindu Business Line New Delhi: Hundreds of elderly poor, who had assembled in Jantar Mantar in Delhi's biting cold, have turned their hopeful eyes toward the new Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, to draw his attention to the plight 14 lakh elderly poor in Delhi. In a letter written to Kejriwal, the Pension Parishad, led by Baba Adhav, Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey among others, while congratulating Kejriwal, sought universalisation of pension...