-The Business Standard Implement it with watershed development schemes to alleviate poverty The United Progressive Alliance government appears to be upbeat regarding the prospects of its flagship scheme, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which provides a universal, self-targeting guarantee of 100 days of employment to every household in all rural districts of India. “MGNREGA has tremendous potential to increase agricultural production, which we have not been able to...

-The Hindu In carrying out Afzal Guru’s death sentence, the government deliberately ignored the view of the Supreme Court and courts across the world that hanging a person after holding him in custody for years is inhuman The execution of Afzal Guru on February 9, 2013 was an inhumane act by the Government of India. Afzal Guru was hanged seven years after the Supreme Court’s pronouncement of the death sentence on him...

-The Hindu Alleged involvement of Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien KOTTAYAM: The victim in the Suryanelli sex-scandal case and those close to her are considering taking legal recourse seeking further investigation into the alleged involvement of Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien in the case. Those close to the victim say they have two options before them, one being to approach the court at Munnar, where the original case was registered, invoking...

-The Hindustan Times Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh has taken his wrangle with finance minister P Chidambaram and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar over the Centre's job guarantee programme to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's court. Stung by their repeated assertions that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) schemes were having a negative impact on the availability of farm labour, Ramesh shot a note to the PM to "respond to the concerns raised by...

-The Times of India LUCKNOW: The incessant rains in the past two days and the ensuing flash flood forced the Corbett National Park evacuate tourists on Saturday and close down the park for 24 hours. The park was reopened on Sunday afternoon. The park authorities said that the streams that ran down the park's length and breadth were so strong that even the tourist vehicles would have flown away. "That's why we...