The Assam government will introduce biometric smart cards for beneficiaries in three districts of the state on a pilot basis in order to make the public distribution system more transparent and efficient. Assam food and civil supplies minister Nazrul Islam today announced that the Centre has cleared a Rs 8-crore proposal submitted by the government to computerise the system in three districts. Under the scheme, the beneficiaries will be issued biometric ration...

Five years after Right to Information (RTI) Act came into existence, Information Commissioners feel that there should be more transparency in their appointments. A Survey conducted by Parivartan , an NGO, among state and central Information Commissioners , the final appellate authorities for RTI Act grievances and complaints, has found that 66% of commissioners Surveyed want a transparent selection process. The Survey found that Information Commissioners had reservations about the...

An approach road to a Dalit colony in Ittikkal Agaram village, 15 km from Krishnagiri, has been blocked with a barbed wire fence by a section of people. According to the people in the colony, the fence was erected by the locals with the support of the ‘Ooor Goundar' (Village Leader). The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is planning to engage in direct action to remove the fence, party MLA S. K....

Are some tribal groups in Koraput and Mayurbhanj on the brink? The answer seems to be in affirmative if the rate of child mortality among the tribals is any indication. The child mortality rate of the tribals in 1997-98 was 44 but it has surged to over 62 per 1000, says the latest study by Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement in association with the World Health Organisation. The Study has conducted...

 Adolescent girls from 22 districts of the state will now get Centre’s support to continue education and receive complete nutrition. The Centre has chosen 22 districts from Uttar Pradesh to implement the Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent girls (RGSEAG-Sabla). To be formally launched across 200 districts in the country from mid-November, the scheme aims to empower out-of-school girls ¿ by educating them and providing them with nutritional support. The Department...