The West Bengal leadership of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) has, in an open letter, warned Trinamool Congress MP Subhendu Adhikari of “severe punishment” being meted out by “the people's court” for his recent remarks against the Maoists in the region. Mr. Adhikari had, at a rally in the Belpahari area of Paschim Medinipur district on November 1, thrown an open challenge to the Maoists and warned that they would...

On the eve of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's scheduled meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the Asean summit in Bali, Indian officials said they did not know whether the newly notified rules for implementing the Nuclear Liability Act would address American concerns about nuclear suppliers being exposed to claims for damages in the event of an accident but insisted that the “law of the land” could...

Government proposes to provide basic insurance coverage to an estimated 43 crore unorganized workers Furthering the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s objective of inclusive growth, the National Advisory Council (NAC) headed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi will discuss ways of bringing India’s unorganized workers under the social security net in its meeting on 29 November. A new NAC working group on social security is working on draft recommendations that will seek to...

The finance ministry is putting shape to a new social security scheme for unorganized sector workers, creating for the first time a safety net for millions of underpaid and overworked people, many of whom living in abject poverty.  The ministry has discussed with the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and the four state run non-life insurance companies the contours of this scheme that will provide life insurance, health cover and retirement pension...

The six interlocutors appointed by the West Bengal government more than four months ago to explore the possibility of talks with the Maoists informed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday of their decision to pull out of the exercise. “We have expressed our desire to be relieved of the responsibilities assigned to us by the State government,” a key interlocutor told The Hindu here. The decision conveyed in a letter comes on...