17 Nov : President Pratibha Devisingh Patil gave away the Nirmal Gram Puraskar 2009 to districts and Block Panchayats from Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and West Bengal for achieving total sanitation in their respective areas at a function in New Delhi.

The Panchayati Raj Institutions that have attained full sanitation are awarded the prestigious Nirmal Gram Puraskar every year.
President Patil lauded the role of panchayati raj institutions in building rural infrastructure.
The President also said that the practice of scavengers though banned is still prevalent and must be eradicated at the earliest through …

8 Nov : The BJP on Sunday bought peace with the party rebels in Karnataka demanding the removal of B S Yeddyruppa who will continue as chief minister while a coordination committee will oversee its affairs in the state.
A compromise between the warring sides to break the two-week-long stalemate is understood to have been hammered out under which a woman minister may be removed and the Speaker inducted into the Cabinet.
Announcing the “amicable” settlement as a birthday gift to senior BJP leader L K Advani, who turned 83 on Sunday, …

21 Oct : Relatives of Indian pilgrims going for Haj will now be able to remain in contact with them as computers have been installed at various locations of the pilgrimage, External Affair Minister S M Krishna said on Tuesday. “Relatives sitting in India can now find out through the website of the Haj Committee of India the whereabouts of their relatives performing Haj and can communicate with them during their stay in Saudi Arabia,” he said during the flag off ceremony of the first batch of pilgrims at …

19 Oct : The Union Cabinet today approved the following salient features for this year’s Haj operations :
1. The Haj operations 2009 would commence from 20th October, 2009 and conclude on 1st January, 2010.
2. The number of Haj pilgrims would be approx. 1,23,211 under the Government subsidy scheme.
3. Every Haj pilgrim would pay only Rs.16,000/- as fare. The remaining fare would be borne by the Government of India.
4. The Haj operations would be carried out from 19 embarkation points as against 17 of last year.
5. Two embarkation points i.e. Ranchi …

4 Oct : Left-ruled West Bengal and BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh have emerged as the top states in implementing the Centre’s ambitious flagship programme NREGA for the disabled.
According to the latest official estimates, West Bengal has provided work to as many as 29,714 disabled people in 2009-10 followed by Chhattisgarh where 13,763 people have been given work.
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) promises 100-day guaranteed unskilled manual work to every rural adult with an aim to alleviate poverty in such areas.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti on …