The political advantage enjoyed by the Congress for bringing the rural job scheme is under threat with five of its states underpaying workers, a revelation that has prompted the leadership against challenging a court order seeking parity between MGNREGA wages and minimum wages in a state.  The Karnataka high court recently ruled that wages under MGNREGA should at least be equal to the notified farm wages. The ruling would result in...

-The Assam Tribune   Finding the going uphill in their bid to sell their produce for good economic returns, raw jute farmers from different parts of South Kamrup area are facing acute crisis. Too poor to afford the input costs, the marginal farmers who practice the cultivation on a massive scale in thousands of bighas of land here at Jiakur 1 Bortari, Kandalpara Cimina, Futuri Goroimari Alikash under Palashbari and Chhaygaon LAC...

-PTI   In the first case of action against a politician for 'paid news', the Election Commission on Thursday disqualified a woman MLA from Uttar Pradesh for three years for incorrect statement of election expenditure incurred on 'news items' in two Hindi dailies. The decision to disqualify Umlesh Yadav, an MLA belonging to Rashtriya Parivartan Dal, headed by D P Yadav, can have ramifications in other cases, including that of former Maharashtra CM...

-The Hindu   A group of 15 experts from various fields has been set up by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to interact with Tamil Nadu government officials and spokespersons of the people in the neighbourhood of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNNP) to dispel the apprehensions of the locals on the safety of reactors. Manmohan's assurance The decision follows Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's assurance to a multi-party delegation from Tamil Nadu on October...

The controversy over the Rs 32-a-day poverty line ceiling appears to have kicked off a minor storm in Congress corridors, with one minister upset that a colleague had hogged the limelight. Kumari Selja, the minister for housing and urban poverty alleviation, has accused the Planning Commission of ignoring her ministry during the controversy while Jairam Ramesh, her colleague in the rural development ministry, had appeared at a media conference called by...