Fuel subsidies to the affluent need to end: Jairam

Fuel subsidies to the affluent need to end: Jairam New Delhi: Strange but true, the subsidy on kerosene, LPG and diesel is twice the total budget of the ministries of rural development, drinking water and sanitation and, more than the budget of the Defence Ministry, Minister for Rural Development and Drinking Water Jairam Ramesh said on Friday. In his own words: "The total subsidy on diesel, kerosene and LPG comes to Rs 1,90,000 crore. Whereas, the total budget for...
07:17 PM, May 25, 2012
Grain won't be left to rot, assures Thomas

Grain won't be left to rot, assures Thomas

Food Minister KV Thomas has ordered a probe into rotting wheat having been distributed in the Public Distribution System in Palwal, Haryana. On May 22, CNN-IBN's story showed how 80,000 sacks of wheat lay rotting and almost abandoned in Ghugera, Haryana. The report also said that rotting wheat had been distributed to BPL card holders systematically. Thomas told CNN IBN, "Nothing has been damaged, I assure you, and we are ...
09:42 AM, May 24, 2012

Grain won't be left to rot, assures Thomas

Grain won't be left to rot, assures Thomas Food Minister KV Thomas has ordered a probe into rotting wheat having been distributed in the Public Distribution System in Palwal, Haryana. On May 22, CNN-IBN's story showed how 80,000 sacks of wheat lay rotting and almost abandoned in Ghugera, Haryana. The report also said that rotting wheat had been distributed to BPL card holders systematically. Thomas told CNN IBN, "Nothing has been damaged, I assure you, and we are...
09:42 AM, May 24, 2012

Haryana: 80,000 sacks of wheat rot in the open

Haryana: 80,000 sacks of wheat rot in the open Palwal: Not just train mishaps but the last three years of UPA rule have also witnessed tonnes of foodgrain rotting away across the country while the poor starve. CNN-IBN has been running a sustained campaign to highlight the issue. Now, it reveals how 80,000 sacks of wheat rotting in the open in Haryana are being distributed to villages through the public distribution system. The dry dust is all that remains...
09:30 PM, May 22, 2012

Ambedkar not the only politician lampooned by Shankar

Ambedkar not the only politician lampooned by Shankar New Delhi: Former NCERT adviser Professor Suhas Palshikar's Pune University office was allegedly attacked and ransacked by an unidentified group over the row on the 63-year-old cartoon of BR Ambdekar. Earlier on Friday, Palshikar had quit as the NCERT advisor after the NCERT was forced to withdraw the sketch from school textbooks. This came after MPs across party lines objected and caused a ruckus in Parliament. Sources said the cartoon...
08:38 AM, May 13, 2012

A ray of hope for those in sunset years

A ray of hope for those in sunset years New Delhi: Activists Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey and Baba Adhav have sparked a debate on rights of citizens and obligations of the state. Does every citizen above the age of 60 deserve a pension of Rs 2000 a month? Is it the duty of the state to mobilise resources to guarantee this? We are talking about those who have spent all their working years earning irregular and meager wages, negotiating...
08:43 PM, May 11, 2012

Haryana: Grain rots while poor starve

Haryana: Grain rots while poor starve Palwal: CNN-IBN had in June 2011 brought you the shocking story of grain rot, decay and decomposition in the Deoli village of Palwal district in Haryana. Shot during monsoons, the grain procured by HAFED and CONFED was infested with worms and exposed to rain. In May 2012, CNN-IBN revisited the same storage yard only to discover that the condition has worsened. Grain procured to be the country's buffer and feed...
09:25 PM, May 09, 2012

Vidya Balan made brand ambassador for improving sanitation

Vidya Balan made brand ambassador for improving sanitation Award winning actor of 'The Dirty Picture', Vidya Balan, will now play a role to alter the real dirty picture on the ground in India. She has accepted Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh's offer to become the brand ambassador in his campaign for improving sanitation. Manual scavenging is the worst face of India's shocking story on sanitation and Vidya has an enormous challenge on her hands - that of...
12:14 PM, May 05, 2012
Can the UPA govt survive without Pranab Mukherjee?

Can the UPA govt survive without Pranab Mukherjee?

A section of the Congress is reluctant to let go of party troubleshooter Pranab Mukherjee. ...
12:05 AM, May 04, 2012

Vidya the brand ambassador for sanitation drive

Vidya the brand ambassador for sanitation drive New Delhi: Vidya Balan, who on Thursday received the Best Actress National Film Award for her role in 'The Dirty Picture', is the new brand ambassador for the sanitation drive launched by Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh. "I can't remember when was the last time I did anything without conviction," said Balan, when asked if she was convinced about the cause. With manual scavenging still a reality and...
09:17 PM, May 03, 2012

Pawar pressure works, govt liberalises sugar export policy

Pawar pressure works, govt liberalises sugar export policy New Delhi: The government in a high level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh decided to free sugar exports by removing quantitative restrictions in order to expedite shipments of the sweetener. This came after Agriculture Minister and NCP chief Sharad Pawar shot off an angry letter terming the UPA's policy on agriculture exports 'ambivalent' and 'against the interest of the farming community'. Importantly, Pawar had termed the Food Ministry's...
06:59 AM, May 03, 2012

PM to address the issue of foodgrain storage on Wednesday

PM to address the issue of foodgrain storage on Wednesday New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to address the issue of crisis in managing the foodgrain stock in a meeting with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Food Minister KV Thomas, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Wednesday at 6.30 pm. While the original agenda of the meeting was to resolve what Sharad Pawar termed as UPA's ambivalent'...
07:06 PM, May 01, 2012
Watch: How Naxals dispense justice

Watch: How Naxals dispense justice

In the jungles of Salboni in West Bengal, the Maoists blatantly violate the law in the name of delivering justice. ...
02:37 PM, Apr 25, 2012

Foodgrain set to rot, storage problem in sight

Foodgrain set to rot, storage problem in sight New Delhi: India is facing a problem of plenty. The Food Corporation of India (FCI) is anticipating an unprecedented storage problem in light of a record production of 252 lakh of foodgrain. Does this mean that precious grain that could feed millions will rot again this year? Notably, a lot of foodgrain got rotten in 2011 and the story is set to be repeated this year as well. However, Union...
08:26 AM, Apr 24, 2012

Agricultural exports: Pawar makes Congress uneasy?

Agricultural exports: Pawar makes Congress uneasy? New Delhi: In his now famous letter to the Prime Minister, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had termed the UPA's agriculture policy on exports "ambivalent", "constantly prevaricating" and "against the interests of the farming community". Pawar even took on Commerce and Textiles Minister Anand Sharma and Food Minister KV Thomas, both of the Congress party, while claiming that the Prime Minister was on his side. However, Thomas has now refuted Pawar's...
10:45 AM, Apr 22, 2012