Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi arrived in Thrissur on Tuesday to learn about Kerala's experience in panchayati raj system.
The Union Territory administration in Ladakh has announced the establishment of an Autonomous Hill Development Council (AHDC) for each of its seven districts, significantly expanding democratic decentralisation. This move extends elected local self-governance beyond Leh and Kargil, with a proposed Union Territory-level body under a customised Article 371 framework to oversee these councils.
Smriti Singh was alarmed to learn that several girls and women in her village were using ash, wheat stubble and tattered rags during menstruation because they could not afford or access sanitary pads.
Author of over 100 books, he served as the secretary general of Lok Sabha from 1983 to 1990.
A special audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has revealed that Odisha's forest and environment department sidestepped central guidelines, procuring and customising Mahindra Thar SUVs worth 17 crore from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for forest protection, despite the funds being earmarked for 'preparedness and capacity building'.
The Assam government has introduced a bill to ban polygamy, proposing imprisonment for offenders while excluding Scheduled Tribes and Sixth Schedule areas from its purview.
In the three decades since reservation of seats for women in panchayati raj institutions was introduced, the country saw women dismantling gender barriers to take the lead in the political field at the grassroots level and excel in it.
The Supreme Court has directed authorities to relocate stray dogs from institutional areas like schools and hospitals to designated shelters due to a rise in dog bite cases. The court also addressed the issue of stray animals on highways.
The Supreme Court has directed the removal of all cattle and other stray animals from highways and expressways, citing safety concerns and frequent accidents.
President Droupadi Murmu addressed the nation on the eve of Republic Day, emphasising India's role in promoting peace, the empowerment of women, and the country's economic growth.
Civil society groups, led by the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha, are planning a nationwide protest -- similar to the farmers' stir a few years ago -- starting December 19 demanding scrapping of the new Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission.
The states need to identify the children in distress through outreach and surveys and prepare a database with a profile of each child, along with the details of their specific needs and requirements, and ensure that the data is uploaded on the Track Child portal.
As the COVID wave gradually shifts to rural areas, several states are gearing up to check its spread through self-proclaimed lockdowns by Panchayati Raj institutions, creating a database of migrants and providing free online medical consultation to the sick.
For nearly two decades, Nitish Kumar has cultivated women as a distinct constituency. 'To create a broader vote base, he thought it would be better to bring women to electoral politics.'
The Supreme Court will hear a plea seeking an independent selection process for the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on March 17. The PIL, filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, argues that the current system of appointment solely by the executive and the prime minister violates the Constitution and undermines the CAG's independence. The petition calls for a transparent process involving the prime minister, Leader of the Opposition, and Chief Justice of India. The PIL contends that the CAG's role as a watchdog over government finances requires a fair and non-arbitrary appointment procedure.
Reaching out to the youth of the Kashmir Valley, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday spelled out initiatives for peace and development, and assured they will not inherit the problems faced by their parents and grandparents.
The Centre has expressed displeasure over improper implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in some states, pointing to inadequacies like failure to put in place monitoring, auditing and accountability mechanisms.
All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference on Wednesday said none of its members would contest the MLC election from panchayat quota. "We make it clear that no member of AJKPC shall contest the MLC's election and we shall continue our fight for the empowerment of the Panchayati Raj institution in the state of Jammu and Kashmir," chairman of AJKPC, Shafiq Mir, told reporters.
Terming India's fiscal decentralisation as 'flawed', the World Bank has mooted six broad strategies, including strengthening the state finance commissions, broadening tax base and greater devolution of power to Panchayati Raj institutions.
The Bihar government has formed a state-level task force to monitor actions taken by authorities to prevent and eradicate child marriages in the state. Bihar has the second-highest rate of child marriage in India, with 40.8% of women getting married before turning 18. The government is implementing a multipronged strategy to combat child marriage, including stricter enforcement of the law, empowering girls through education, and raising awareness.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said he was not going to dilute the status of Jammu and Kashmir by "automatically implementing" all central acts and amendments.
The spokesman said it was learnt that an active terrorist of Hizbul, Farooq Ahmad Bhat, had received directions from terror handlers based in Pakistan to target the members of Panchayati Raj Institutions in Kulgam.
'I don't feel useless,' says Mani Shankar Aiyar.
'Women' as a political constituency appears to be an idea that has come of age. It is changing India in ways that we only dimly understand, asserts Aditi Phadnis.
Four more Congress leaders, including former deputy speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly Gulam Hyder Malik, and a dozen prominent workers of the Apni Party resigned from their respective parties on Monday in support of veteran politician Ghulam Nabi Azad.
'It will be an explosion of zoonotic diseases from these places.' 'People will not be able to live or work for kilometres around these places where thousands of street dogs are kept.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party leadership in Himachal Pradesh is making efforts to mollify party leaders who are disgruntled over distribution of tickets to six Congress rebels for the assembly bypolls, former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said on Tuesday.
Pitching strongly for the empowerment of Panchayati Raj institutions in Jammu and Kashmir, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday promised sarpanches that his party will fight for their rights and build pressure on the state government for it.
Jannayak Janta Party chief Ajay Singh Chautala on Wednesday said his party worked with full honesty to fulfil the 'gathbandhan dharma' over the last four and half years of the alliance and his party was never power hungry.
Describing it as 'Sankalp Patra', the party in its manifesto promised 33 per cent reservation to women in government jobs and private institutions in the state and free rides in Haryana roadways buses.
He said Bangladesh has expressed its interests in exchanging experiences on local government and so have South Africa and Brazil.
Azad would be accorded a grand reception on his arrival from Delhi Sunday morning, and a procession would accompany him to the venue of the public meeting at the Sainik Colony.
They will help pursuing research on issues like panchayati raj, women's empowerment and nuclear disarmament, subjects close to the heart of the late leader.
An invasion of wolves is keeping the forest authorities on their toes in Bahraich, where the animal is suspected to have killed at least six people and wounded several, all within a very short span.
Azad, 73, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, ended his five-decade association with the Congress on Friday, terming the party "comprehensively destroyed" and lashing out at Rahul Gandhi for "demolishing" its entire consultative mechanism.
Sources in the Rural Development Ministry said the actual expenditure incurred in 2020-21 will be higher than the allocated funds and it will at least be at par with this year's total estimated expenditure of MGNREGS.
Due to heavy rains and waterlogging over the tracks at several locations on South Central Railway network, as many as 99 trains were cancelled and four trains were partially cancelled while 54 trains were diverted, an SCR official said.
Speaking after interacting with gram panchayats and pani samitis/village water and sanitation committees (VWSC) on the Jal Jeevan Mission, Modi said the mission is not just about bringing water to people but it is also a decentralisation movement that is village and women-driven.
Abdullah issued a white paper on development undertaken in Jammu and Kashmir during the rule of "Abdullah and Sons" -- as Shah referred the family in his speech at a rally in Baramulla district -- to counter the allegations of corruption.
