-Greater Kashmir Jammu, Apr 25: The wage rate under MGNREGA would be increased from present Rs 131/day to Rs 150 to speed up its implementation at the ground level. The information, according to an official statement, was given in the 4th State Employment Grantee Council meeting held here today under the chairmanship of Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Law Justice and Parliament Affairs, Ali Muhammad Sagar. Sagar while impressing upon the officers...

-The Telegraph Reclaimed from Maoists, the natural reserves of Saranda are up against unscrupulous adversaries. At least four mining firms have been extracting iron ore and manganese against their sanctioned capacities in this West Singhbhum region since 2008 right under the nose of the mines department and Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board (JSPCB). The startling fact came to light this January after the two laggard state offices replied to separate RTI petitions filed...

-The Telegraph   The New York Times has reported that Wal-Mart, the US-based retail giant, hushed up an internal investigation sometime after the company was told of a bribery campaign to obtain licences and facilitate rapid expansion in Mexico. Some of the alleged instances of bribery are certain to ring a bell in India where it is not too difficult to bend rules for a price. The New York Times said its “examination...

BHOPAL: The state government move to appoint chief information commissioner (CIC) by the end of April may hit a roadblock with the Supreme Court stating Friday that it would lay down guidelines to ensure that posts of information commissioners at the centre and state commissions do not become "property of a political set-up". The post of state's CIC is lying vacant following the retirement of P P Tiwari on March 26...

How an image-fixated chief minister has bent the state’s media to his will If you haven’t heard of an income tax raid on the residential premises of Nitish Kumar’s close aide and treasurer of the ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U), Vinay Kumar Sinha, you are not alone. Thanks to the local media, it took a while even in Patna—where the house is located—for people to get to know. This, incidentally, is the...