To maintain projects to clean the river and restore its environmental health Centre to consider Uttarakhand's demand for free power in compensation for scrapped projects Conservation Action Plan approved for Gangetic dolphin, the national aquatic animal States through which the Ganga flows will soon be given additional funding to operate and maintain projects to clean the river and restore its environmental health. However, States lobbied for more aid and free power to those...

The microcredit revolution has been celebrated for helping poor women in developing countries start small businesses. By borrowing money for purchases such as a buffalo or sewing machine, the women were able to help lift their families out of poverty. But critics say the microcredit model has been perverted by commercial greed in India, with reports of abusive collection methods and sky-high interest rates. "What began as a simple, innovative model...

The prestigious Rs 2,500-crore Machilipatnam port project is unable to cruise what with the district administration failing to hand over 4,000 acres of land  to the developers, Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd (NECL), even six months after the state government gave its nod for the project. The Congress government awarded the project to NECL this April after cancelling the previous agreement with Maytas-led consortium following its involvement in the multi-crore Satyam scandal....

The Election Commission was the first to do it, and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has followed the example — the transgenders of India are finally being recognised by its government. Enrolment forms of the UIDAI will have a third column — ‘T’, for Transgender — along with the ‘M’ and ‘F’ for Male and Female respectively, so that over a million eunuchs can register their unique identities. The EC...

Gangadhar Gaikwad writes to Governor after work on his house was stalled Gangadhar Gaikwad's neighbourhood hates him. His Scheduled Caste background is a constant source of irritation. And a house that the government decided to build him is a thorn in the flesh. One fine day, construction of the house stopped. “These Mangs [an SC community in Maharashtra] have come and now they want to build a house in front of ours....