-The Hindu   Representatives of government institutions at a meeting on new initiatives in community health in Rajasthan at Swasthya Bhavan here on Monday said health care delivery should be strengthened in the remote areas and free treatment provided to all sections of poor and under-privileged people in the State. The two-day meeting was presided over by State Planning Board Member and eminent neurologist Ashok Panagariya and attended by Medical and Health...

Stating that the radio was a vital medium for the dissemination of information among farmers, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar urged farmers to make the maximum utilisation of the collective radio station concept. He was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of two such radio stations launched in Barh and Birauli towns in Patna and Samastipur districts. Lauding the efforts of the State Agriculture Department in realising the concept, he said that the...

Chhattisgarh’s BJP government has decided to abstain from Planning Commission meetings in protest against the inclusion of Binayak Sen in its steering committee on health. Chief Minister Raman Singh has told TV channels that an elected government cannot attend meetings where a “convict” will be present. Senior state officials, though, said that bureaucrats would be sent to plan panel meetings on financial matters such as outlays and projects. Skipping these meetings can...

Gary Singh’s abduction ordeal illustrates the dangers faced by those who rely on smugglers to make their way overseas One day in 2006, 18-year-old Gubachan “Gary” Singh, an illegal immigrant in Manila, Philippines, was on his way to work when he was approached by four stocky Filipinos. One pulled out a gun, pressing the barrel into the small of his back, while another blindfolded him and shoved him into a van....

-PTI   Orissa government's move to resume land acquisition for Posco steel plant from Wednesday faced trouble today with villagers supporting the project announcing non-cooperation and opponents demanding relocation of the proposed plant site from the fertile land. "Though we want establishment of Posco steel plant here, we will not cooperate with the administration''s efforts of land acquisition process unless our demands are fulfilled," United Action Committee (UAC) president Anadi Charan Rout...