At a time that land in urban centres, especially in the big metropolitan cities, is at a premium, a Working Group of the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) has suggested that, as far as possible, slum dwellers should be resettled at the spot where they are currently living, rather than displacing them, so that they continue to remain close to their places of work. NAC sources said the Working...

Pawar announces mega plans for mechanisation in 12th Plan Faced with farm labour shortage following the introduction of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), AgriculTure Minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday announced mega plans for mechanisation in the 12th Five-Year Plan. “With the successful implementation of the MGNREGS and other anti-poverty programmes, there is now pressure on the availability of farm labour,” Mr. Pawar told senior journalists at the Economic...

Act had been criticised for infringing on civil liberties, being arbitrary   The Jammu and Kashmir government has approved amendments in the Public Safety Act (PSA), which had come under criticism for being arbitrary and infringing upon the civil liberties of the people. Official sources said that the amendments were approved during a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah here on Wednesday. The amendment Bill, sources said, would prevent the slapping...

Malaria is a mass killer, taking just under 800,000 lives a year. Most of them are babies and children under five. A significant number are pregnant women. It is an entirely preventable disease, caused by a parasite transmitted by mosquito bite, but the millions who live under its curse are too poor and have too few options to be able to avoid it. The malaria vaccine [ See: “Malaria vaccine partly...

Jagatsinghpur: As many as one hundred NREGA job card holders from Baramunduli Panchayat under Balikuda block on Tuesday staged Dharana in front of Balikuda block office protesting delay in getting wage. Report said that a road project Baghaipur to Jainla was under taken in NREGA, about 300 selected job card holders had deployed in the work ironically after completion of the work the job card holders are yet to get...