-PTI   The socio-economic caste census, which will be used to identify beneficiaries of various social welfare schemes, including the proposed food law, could only be completed by July-end, according to Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh. Last month, Food Minister K V Thomas had written a letter to the Rural Development Minister seeking an updated status of SECC (socio-economic caste census) 2011, and also requested the ministries concerned to complete the survey soon...

Hindutva continues to be the main agenda of the BJP in Karnataka, as is evident from the cattle slaughter Bill. THE Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the single largest party in the Assembly elections and managed to form the government in Karnataka in 2008. The electoral victory encouraged the hard-line elements in the party and organisations with Hindutva affiliation to advance their ideology in a spirited manner and stoke communal...

The Madhya Pradesh government beefs up its saffron agenda with a “draconian” law. “IT is a contest between the two. The holy by-lanes of old Bhopal, which houses two of the largest mosques in Asia, the Taj-ul-Masjid and the Jama Masjid, were under attack from the holy cow,” said an activist of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), in a tone which he thought was in good humour, when asked about...

The fertiliser ministry may seek more funds from the finance ministry to meet its subsidy obligations as it needs more than the allocated amount to take care of the rising subsidy bill, a top official said.  "We have already received 17,700 crore in addition to the budgetary allocation of around 50,000 crore. But we still need more funds, and the amount will be finalised in consultation with the finance ministry," said...

In Chhattisgarh, Hindutva manifests itself in the form of attacks on Christians; in Uttarakhand it does so in the form of promoting Sanskrit. IN Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand, States ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Hindutva agenda may not be strident, but the Sangh Parivar orientation is unmistakable in various government policies and programmes. While in Uttarakhand the party places much emphasis on gau mata (bovine goddess) and the teaching of...