In an apparent move to counter the push for quota in promotion for SC/ST in government jobs, Samajwadi Party in Rajya Sabha on Monday demanded proportionate reservation for Muslims through a Constitutional amendment. The issue triggered an
Ganjam has to be the open defecation capital of India. Dawn and dusk are not poetry-inspiring here. These are times when entire villages descend on to the roads, unabashedly squatting with lungi, towel or saree hitched at the waist. The sight and
Every evening, by the auto stand near the government medical college in Berhampur, a police jeep stands discreetly in the shadows waiting to ambush violators of traffic laws. The helmet law goes unenforced, but riding-in-threes on motorbikes means
One of the ten single window centres for governance delivery in the remote reaches of Maoist-affected Saranda in Jharkhand, the integrated development centre (IDC) at Digha village will be up and functioning by February, the deputy commissioner of
Confident of returning to power in Gujarat, Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the ruling BJP would score a "hat-trick" in the state by winning the assembly polls for the third time in a row on the plank of "good governance
With the second and final phase of elections in Gujarat on today, let us focus on the hush-hush talk that found no mention in candidates’ speeches or pamphlets: the voting-eve distribution of cash and/or liquor. After the neig
Chief minister Sheila Dikshit’s claim that a family of five can purchase a month’s ration of rice, wheat and sugar for Rs 600 has come under fire. While the main opposition party, the BJP, has accused her of playing to the gallery with
People of Achhala village have been keeping track of the visitors as well as non-visitors. On Friday, former chief minister and Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP) founder Keshubhai Patel arrived in Tejgagh, the larger village just two km away, and peo
The unprecedentedly high level of voting in the first phase of assembly elections in Gujarat comes from equally unprecedented measures the election commission took to encourage citizens to cast their votes. On December 13, Saurashtra
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Saturday unveiled the Delhi government`s ambitious food programme `Annashree’, under which monthly cash subsidy of Rs 600 will be transferred directly into the bank account of the seniormost female member of 2
There were 22.86 million Internet subscribers in India at the end of March 2012 - way below the target that was set for 2010 - on account of multiple factors that have prevented its spread, Parliament was informed today. The number of Inte
The chief information commission (CIC) might have struck another blow on the momentous Right to Information Act with its recent ruling that the attorney general (AG) is not bound to answer RTI queries. The declaration has drawn flak from R
Take this: tech is the future, that future is hovering close to the present, it is wow, and India is closing in on it. Now, take that as the assurance by the government. Discussing th
A revised draft of cyber security policy and cyber security architecture will be presented to the cabinet for its approval in next two months, according to highly placed sources in the Indian computer emergency response team (
We, the middle-class, are prone to righteous anger, propped by our education and a superficial knowledge of some laws every time we spot a violation of these. I have cringed and seen others cringe at accepting the services of a below14-year -old a
At 4 am, when they got up to get their act together for D-day, the polling party had little clue about the bright and sunny day that was to follow and that Dugheri would show up in numbers to give their thumbs-up to an idea called democracy.
After a record 68 percent turnout in the first phase of Gujarat elections, the question on most minds is, of course, is it for Narendra Modi or against him? The simple thing to say is that it is too risky to dissect the mood of the electorate and
The Supreme Court on Friday sought response from the Centre on Kargil martyr Capt Saurabh Kalia`s father`s plea seeking its direction to the government for raising the case of his son`s torture at the hands of Pakistan army at the International Co
Doorstep banking, made possible by the introduction of electronic fund management system, has enabled faster payment of NREGA wages to workers in Tripura`s rural areas. Earlier, an NREGA labourer had to wait for 15 to 20 days to receive th
