It has served as a tool to ease tension in Kandhamal and ethnic conflict among Manipur's tribal groups Officials rewarded for ingenuity at function celebrating completion of five years of MGNREGS Eight District Magistrates from across India rewarded for efforts in their respective districts Pepping up the rural economy, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is also a magic wand for reducing tensions and forging social unity and bonding family...

When it comes to paid news, there's silence because, while Ashok Chavan might stand accused, it is the media who are on trial. The year 2010 saw journalists, their associations and unions hold more conferences and seminars on one professional issue than any other. And it wasn't on the Wage Board or the Radia tapes. Hundreds of journalists across the country attended these meetings. Dozens stood up and spoke of their...

Radiation from mobile phones and towers poses serious health risks, including loss of memory, lack of concentration, disturbance in the digestive system and sleep disturbances, according to an inter-ministerial committee formed by the ministry of communications and information technology to study the hazards posed by mobile phones. The committee has also attributed the disappearance of butterflies, bees, insects and sparrows vanishing from big cities to mobile phone-related radiation. The eight-member committee, which...

The Orissa government has to give an assurance that not a single person is entitled to benefits under the Forest Rights Act, according to one of the conditions set by the Union environment ministry while giving provisional clearance to the Posco project today. The condition has been imposed following allegations that claims under the Forest Rights Act had not been settled. The act deals with dependants on forests for livelihood. The project,...

A recent newspaper report noted that the Union Government had gazetted the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification 2011 and received strong criticism from organisations that work for protecting coastal ecosystems and fight for the rights and welfare of fisherfolk. About 20 organisations working in the field of protecting fishermen's rights and lawyers backing them have taken strong exception to the notification. This is on the ground that the new notification,...