-Down to Earth   State blames poor financial condition for the move The Bihar government has defended its recent move to lower its minimum wage rate offered to unskilled labourers, saying the state is in poor financial condition. Bihar has lowered its wage rate offered under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) from Rs 144 to Rs 135, while the state minimum wage is Rs 168. This is despite the...

-The Hindu Business Line Kolkata: The West Bengal State Election Commission on Monday moved the High Court seeking a stay on the notification issued by the State Government regarding panchayat polls (rural polls). The petition was filed before Justice Biswanath Samaddar. The matter is expected to come up for hearing tomorrow. The Panchayat Department of the State Government had last month (in March) issued a notification to conduct panchayat polls in two phases...

-Down to Earth They turn a blind eye to laws overriding tribal rights, complains national commission GOVERNORS of states with sizeable tribal population have come in for indictment over not performing their special administrative roles. To ensure partial autonomy in tribal areas, the Constitution entrusts governors with immense powers to supervise the administration and governance in such areas. They can allow or disallow any law or development programme in tribal areas to...

-DNA You may be cursing when you pay a high price for Kashmiri apples, wondering what share of the moneyorchard owners would receive. But in reality, the apple growers wouldn't be even knowing the price at which the fruit is sold in the mainland, leave alone reaping profits. Then, where does the money go? Into the pockets of commission agents, who, sitting in Delhi or any of the major cities, exploit and...

-The Telegraph   Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government proposes to set up review committees at village levels and urban areas to keep a tab on all health related programmes. The committees, which will have people from various walks of life, will do social audit of the projects being implemented in their areas. Health and family welfare minister Damodar Rout today said: "The committees will be set up in rural as well as urban areas. All...