-Livemint.com Farmers who opt for drip irrigation will be given loans at 2% rate of interest with a cap of Rs. 85,400 per hectare Mumbai: In a significant move, the Devendra Fadnavis government in Maharashtra on Tuesday decided to make drip irrigation mandatory for sugar cane cultivation over 3.05 lakh hectares in the state. Farmers who opt for drip irrigation will be given loans at 2% rate of interest with a cap...

-The Indian Express Government has an opportunity to enhance use of social audit to monitor schemes In contrast to its rhetoric, the current government’s record on transparency, accountability, and citizen participation has been uninspiring. Even essential laws such as the Lok Pal and the Whistle Blower Protection Act are yet to be operationalised. However, recent developments on social audits, the conduct of which actually finds a place in the BJP’s 2014...

-Scroll.in Terms of agreement give private players 30-year lease over parts of government district hospitals. Niti Aayog and the Union ministry for health and family welfare have proposed a model contract to increase the role of private hospitals in treating non-communicable diseases in urban India. The agreement, which has been been shared with states for their comments, allows private hospitals to bid for 30-year leases over parts of district hospital buildings...

-The Times of India DELHI: The report of a fire literally on the Ganga prompted noted environmentalist and lawyer M C Mehta to file a PIL in the Supreme Court over 32 years ago. Discharge of inflammable effluents from nearby industries in Haridwar had caused the fire on water and subsequently triggered the chain of events which culminated in Thursday's NGT judgement directing both central and state authorities to take multiple...

-PTI The apex court asked the CBI director to constitute a team of officers to investigate the cases of extra-judicial killing in Manipur. The Supreme Court on Friday directed a probe by the CBI into the alleged extra-judicial killings by the Army, the Assam Rifles and the Manipur Police in the insurgency—hit State. A Bench of Justices M.B. Lokur and U.U. Lalit asked the CBI director to appoint a team of officers to...