-Newsclick.in "Whosoever comes to power; my request is to constitute a technical team and explore and work on all the possible options to address and curb this menace." Udta Punjab, a Bollywood film released in 2016, highlighted the issue of the severe drug problem in Punjab. The movie acted as an eye-opener for many in the state. After five years, as the state is ready for another Assembly poll, the film has...

-Hindustan Times In his letter dated January 27, chairman of the high powered committee for the Char Dham Pariyojana, Ravi Chopra, has said the union ministry of road transport had ignored recommendations The chairman of a panel set up by the Supreme court to oversee widening of roads under the Char Dham Pariyojana has written to the top court saying he wanted to resign as the road ministry was ignoring the committee’s...

-Citizens for Justice and Peace and The Wire Data suggests that areas in eastern Uttar Pradesh, especially PM Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi, had 60% excess deaths during the pandemic relative to 2019. The Wire is grateful to Murad Banaji for his help with preparing this report. Data collected and analysed by Citizens for Justice and Peace, a human rights organisation, and independent experts shows deaths in the Purvanchal region of eastern...

-Hindustan Times The highly-anticipated report will assess climate adaptation and the impacts of climate change, looking at ecosystems, biodiversity, and human communities at global and regional levels. A new report from the Intergovernmental panel on Climate Change that is to be released on February 28 will be important for India, experts said, because it focuses on vulnerability and adaptation to climate crisis. The highly-anticipated report will assess climate adaptation and the impacts of...

-Livemint.com The panel highlighted lack of effective coordination with states in terms of timely release of funds for the MGNREGA scheme NEW DELHI: A parliamentary standing committee has rebuked the Department of Rural Development for lack of effective coordination with states in terms of timely release of funds for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREGA) scheme. According to the Department of Rural Development, one of the impediments obstructing the smooth flow...