Governance And Institutions
Court admits petitions against Samras
The Gujarat High Court has admitted two petitions challenging the Samras scheme announced by the state government for the gram panchayat elections in the state and seeking to quash it.
Assam, Meghalaya record lower literacy rate
Assam and Meghalaya have recorded lower literacy rate than the all India average while Arunachal Pradesh has got the dubious distinction of maximum number of illiterate persons in the entire North Eastern region as per the Provisional Census Report for the year 2001.
Camel art, new mantra in experimental learning
A group of retired High Court advocates, IAS officers and prominent industrialists in the Ahmedabad city (Gujarat) have come together to take up the task of spreading awareness amongst the backward communities in remote areas around Prantiji of Sabarkantha district. They are focusing on importance of experimental learning. This time …
Getting back Assam's Children to schools
A total of 31,534 children aged between five to seven years who are either dropouts or had never been to school at all will start going to regular school from August 16, thanks to a 'Bridge Course' launched under the Axom Sarva Siksha Abhiyan in Assam. Mission Director of the …
And now first village court in state
Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Digvijay Singh inaugurated the state's first village court in the Neemuch district aimed at providing justice at the village level only avoiding costly litigation.
Total literacy within reach
Buoyed by the reasonable performance in the just concluded Chaduvula Panduga, the Hyderabad district authorities are confident of achieving 100 per cent literacy in the next two years, at least a year before the target set for the entire Andhra Pradesh state.
Hole in the ozone layer
Here's an argument that ought to put the one about a hole in the ozone layer at rest. Unfortunately, it hasn't been well documented. The last few decades have seen conservation advocates shout from the roof tops that the depletion in ozone levels is being compounded by an increased incidence …
Gram sabhas to be held on I-Day
The Gram Sabhas to be organised in all village panchayats across Rajasthan on the Independence Day will discuss the implementation of various social security and public welfare schemes, including the "mid day meal" scheme, and review the progress of elementary education in the Government schools.
State to computerise land records, panchayat services
As part of its e-governance project, the Gujarat government has decided to computerise all vital statistics on land and latest status of panchayat services like health, primary education, co-operatives and animal husbandry of 18400 gram panchayats, 225 taluka and 26 district panchayats which will be directly linked to the panchayat …
More CNG outlets planned
Taking cognizance of the taxi and autorickshaw unions' demand to increase the number of compressed natural gas(CNG) outlets in Mumbai, chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Monday announced that 17 new plots have been identified for CNG stations.
USAID to provide $ 100 m. to Pak.
The USAID, which resumed its operations in Pakistan a few days ago, has signed an agreement with the Musharraf Government to provide a $100 million grant to support the country's educational reforms.
Where deaths matter little, he fights to save trees
In a state where massacres of people fail to make news any more, a 60-year-old man is risking his life and contesting elections on an unusual agenda - to stop the killing of trees. Chaudhary Mohammad Sakhi of the Gujjar tribe lives in Sangdi Balla village, located on a hilltop …
Poor literacy drive : Unicef
West Bengal has fallen short of the promises with which it began its run for total literacy more than a decade ago. Unicef officials and members of Janasiksha Prochar Kendra, a city based NGO, said this on the occasion of the International Literacy Day and anniversary of the Sikshalay scheme.
Nature gets by with a little help
Reforestation of degraded forestland may be an uphill task for the Government, but for Babloo Ganguly and his wife Mary, it is much easier than it is projected to be. "You don't need massive plantations and huge funds. Just plant some saplings ad protect them from felling and fire. The …
Bastar's enviable record
There has been a remarkable increase in the literacy rate in Bastar in the past 10 years as a result of several literacy programmes being run in the district. The literacy rate as per the 1991 census was 17.58 per cent, it has touched 44.58 per cent in 2001. According …
Communities succeed where state fails
When rain plays truant year after year and the govt. chooses to be blissfully ignorant, people are left to fend for themselves. Here is the story of a mammoth effort by communities in MP to put together a sustainable indigenous system. The story of this community power began in 1999 …
Female literacy in Assam higher than national average
The female literacy rate according to the Census 2001, in the northeastern States including Sikkim except Arunachal Pradesh has risen even above the national average. In Assam, female literacy rate is 56.70 per cent in Manipur, 60.41 per cent in Meghalaya, 61.46 per cent in Sikkim, 61.92 per cent in …
State to increase literacy level to 80 p.c. by 2005
The Karnataka State government has set a target of increasing the literacy level in the State from the present 67.04 per cent to 80 per cent by 2005, through its various literacy programme including the continuing education programme. While the total literacy rate for the state stood at 67.04 per …
Colours of Earth: Dalit women's green revolution
Making the maximum out of minimum resources always makes for a good story. Specially when Dalit women, disadvantaged by gender a caste, are central to the success story. Colours of the Earth, made by Kavitha - a woman who belongs to this community - is humbling and satisfying at the …
Arivoli project information centres soon
In its third phase, the Arivoli scheme, which began as a mission to spread literacy, is all set to assume a wholesome development perspective in Chennai. The 'Continuous Education' phase of the project, implemented by the Corporation, aims at providing libraries-cum-information centres in slums and pockets where lower economic groups …
