It is a city where a few of the country's most strategic roads like National Highways 3, 6 and 211 crisscross each other. And for their political inroads, all election candidates in Dhule are chanting two "I"s -- irrigation and industry.
India's very own "banana republic"--Jalgaon district in northern Maharashtra that produces than 16 per cent of India's bananas and 3 per cent of the world's output--is living up to its name: in the coming assembly elections, it has the highest number of rebel independent candidates who are literally driving their parties bananas!
Social audit of rural jobs scheme promises to empower people with information about how they are being denied the benefits of the schemes meant for them.
A poll update from a village in Maharashtra.
President Pratibha Patil's son is fighting on a Congress ticket against the powerful two-term sitting Member of Legislative Assembly and Maharashtra Finance Minister Sunil Deshmukh, who has quit the party to contest as an independent. A R Rahman made it a part of his Oscar awards acceptance speech. But not many imagined that the politics of Amravati would revolve around Salim-Javed's immortal dialogue in the Hindi blockbuster Deewar: "Mere paas maa hai!"
After voting with sworn political enemy Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against its one-time ally the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) last year, the Left is again considering floor co-ordination with the BJP in Parliament.
The government was able to initiate crucial steps in the ministries of rural development, human resource development, home, finance and commerce, thanks to energetic ministers, but did not exactly win laurels on other fronts.
Members protest, rural ministry assures it will not be so hereafter.
Rule 4 in Section 55 of the Land Acquisition Act's Company Rules may help farmers in Dadri but is hardly a guarantee for other cultivators.
The right to food campaign, which is a collaboration of people's movements from across the country, is now on the verge of seeing its demand of a right to food become a reality.
The retraction was preceded by a shouting match between Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Railway Minister Mamata Banerji, who had threatened to walk out of a Cabinet meeting protesting some provisions in the Bill earlier this month.
'We want to make Bengal an automobile hub.'
As the Congress brass is gearing up for the Cabinet reshuffle after the current Parliament session, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has sought TC chief Mamata Banerjee's suggestions for her party's new nominee. Banerjee has conveyed to the PM and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee that she has nominated Sudip Banerjee for this slot.
Acting against the wishes of the entire state unit of the Congress and even senior central leaders, Gandhi decided to give two prestigious Assembly seats, Sealdah and Bowbazar, to the TC, on Saturday night. Byelections to these seats are slated for this month.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday stepped in to ensure cabinet ministers don't keep their junior ministers idle but give them more work to do.After reading out her written speech in the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting in New Delhi on Thursday, Gandhi made an unusual impromptu addition over this issue. According to insiders, Gandhi -- in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and most of the Congress cabinet ministers -- pitched for Ministers of State.
According to a Cabinet minister, the UPA's focus during the remaining period of the Budget session will be on passing the Right to Education Bill. Apart from this, the government is planning to bring a Bill to amend the Rubber Act and the National Commission for Heritage Sites Bill. The government will be occupied till July 27 with the General Budget, as contained in the Finance Bill. It will actually not get more than seven days to deal with other legislative business.
On October 2, the government will roll out the comprehensive plan in 10 districts. The ministry has had a series of discussions with the National Institute of Rural Development, which is to be the nodal body for overseeing the convergence of all rural schemes.
Ramesh, a labourer in Toomda village near Bhopal, can't believe his luck. He earns Rs 81 a day, digging wells under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme, the United Progressive Alliance's flagship social welfare scheme that started in 2006.
Global demand for certified wood has prompted Indian companies to get their logging vetted by monitoring agencies.
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