Omar appeasing radical political elements in the State, says Bhan Amid reports of the Defence Ministry's opposition to the withdrawal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) from certain areas in Jammu and Kashmir, the Congress, the main ally of the Omar Abdullah-LED coalition government in the State, also voiced its reservations. The party also repeated its demand for rotational Chief Ministership after completion of three years of the present...

Economic growth and liberalisation have helped lift living standards across the country in the eight years to 2007-08, according to a human development gauge unveiLED by Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia. The Human development Index (HDI), which measured living conditions on the basis of consumption expenditure, education and health, rose from 0.387 in 1999-2000 to 0.467 in 2007-08. The index has been compiLED by the Institute of Applied Manpower Research,...

Directs Centre to submit detaiLED report on project cost and land acquisition The ambitious river linking project, connecting rivers of peninsular India with  Himalayan rivers through canals, has hit a roadblock after the Supreme Court's observation that the project would burden the Union government because of escalating costs. While environmentalists and activists have welcomed the order seeking detaiLED report on the project's cost, the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) has commenced...

The Human Development Index (HDI) in the country rose by 21 per cent, says a report while cautioning that health, nutrition and sanitation remained key challenges for India. India Human Development Report, 2011, prepared by the government's Institute of Applied Manpower Research, placed Kerala on top of the index for achieving highest literacy rate, quality health services and consumption expenditure of people. Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Goa were placed at second, third...

Management agrees to set up two panels at Manesar plant The 14-day-long strike by workers of Maruti Suzuki India Limited's Manesar plant in which workers of Suzuki Powertrain India Limited and Suzuki Motorcycle India Private Limited joined, was calLED off in the early hours of Friday after the managements, the workers and the Haryana government arrived at separate tripartite agreements. Unrest had been festering at the Manesar plant since June, hampering car...