A higher order of political leadership, a transparent and accountable bureaucracy and activist citizen forums are imperative for effectively addressing hunger and poverty in India, N.R. Narayana Murthy, chairman and chief mentor of Infosys Technologies, said on Sunday. Addressing a policy forum at the international conference on “Eliminating hunger and poverty” hosted by the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Mr. Murthy said the dark side of India's growth story had been...
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Centre to use GIS to monitor rural job scheme
The Centre will now monitor the implementation of NREGA through Geographical Information System (GIS). The Ministry of Rural Development has constituted an expert group for developing a “strategic framework” with respect to the use of GIS under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural employment Guarantee Act, a Ministry official said on Thursday. The 16-member expert group will be headed by Secretary in the Rural Development Ministry, BK Sinha. A representative from the Indian Space...
More »Waste-pickers oppose UN plan by John Vidal
Pickers say waste-to-energy incineration plants increase emissions and take away their only means of survival. The waste-pickers who scour the world's rubbish dumps and daily recycle thousands of tonnes of metal, paper and plastics are up in arms against the U.N., which they claim is forcing them out of work and increasing climate change emissions. Their complaint, heard on Wednesday in Bonn where the U.N. global climate change talks have resumed. The...
More »The Empire strikes back — and how! by P Sainath
The original report on ‘paid news' of the Press Council of India sub-committee is relegated to the archive. Then too, it does not even appear on the PCI's website. Presented with a chance to make history, the Press Council of India has made a mess instead. The PCI has simply buckled at the knees before the challenge of “Paid News.” Its decision of July 30 to sideline its own sub-committee's report...
More »No More Excuses To Eliminating Child Labour by Ananthapriya Subramanian
What do three members of the National Advisory Council, two members of the Planning Commission, Editors (including the editor and executive editor of this magazine), MPs from across the political spectrum, CII members and the NCPCR have in common? One single demand: no child under 14 should be engaged in child labour. Forty-five eminent members of society from very diverse backgrounds have thrown their considerable weight behind an ongoing campaign...
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