-The Asian Age Ahead of the Union Budget, senior ministers of the UPA appear to be petitioning Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with claims and counter-claims over the performance of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act (MNREGA).   After finance minister P. Chidambaram apparently tried to impress upon the Prime Minister for cut in MNREGA budget, Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh, in a letter to Dr Singh, has rebutted his colleague’s perception about...

-Counter Currents The Aadhaar scheme of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is to provide India's billion-plus people with a unique identification number. Enrolling into the scheme was and still is not mandatory, though it was mentioned that it would be difficult for people to access public services in the absence of enrolment. The scheme requires individuals to provide their photograph, fingerprints and iris scan together with documentary personal information,...

-The Times of India AHMEDABAD: Was BJP MP Dinu Solanki in touch with a prime accused in the murder of RTI activist Amit Jethava, who was gunned down outside Gujarat high court on July 20, 2010? The CBI is investigating a possible link between Solanki and Bahadursinh Vadher, a constable who is the prime accused in the case. The central agency questioned the MP for the third consecutive day in Ahmedabad on...

-The Hindu KOTTAYAM: Dharmarajan, the third accused in the Suryanelli sex abuse case, who was absconding after jumping bail in 2005, was on Friday arrested at Sagar in Shimoga district by a Special Investigation Team of the Kerala Police, said district police chief C. Rajagopal. He will be produced before the Suryanelli Special Court here on Saturday. According to police sources, Dharmarajan was arrested from a lodge near Sagar city. The police chief said...

-Hard News Media Despite the high economic growth, India has the highest proportion of malnourished children in the world. Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, Montek Singh Ahluwalia and others gathered at IIT Delhi to discuss the Food Security Bill The jam packed Dogra auditorium of IIT Delhi was a testimony to Nobel laureate Amartya Sen’s popularity amongst students, teachers, activists, economists, among others who had congregated to hear him talk on the...