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						<description>A web resource on India rural crises - Ideas, Concerns, Facts and Backgrounders</description>
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				<title>Haryana n-plant land survey stopped as farmers protest</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/haryana-n-plant-land-survey-stopped-as-farmers-protest-13032.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[-Express News ServiceWork on the survey of land at Gorakhpur village &mdash; the site for Haryana&rsquo;s first nuclear power plant &mdash; came to a halt on Monday after irate villagers held three engineers of a private company hostage for five hours.According to sources, the engineers of DBM Geo-Technology and Construction Company, working for the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited, had gone to the village without taking the local administration into confidence. For the last six days, they had been...]]></description>
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				<title>Korku, Gond tribals eat protein deficient diet</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/korku-gond-tribals-eat-protein-deficient-diet-13031.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[-The Times of India&nbsp;According to the study conducted by a botany student for her PhD thesis, highly protein deficient diet of Korku and Gond tribes in Central India is one of the reasons of malnutrition in them. Mostly these tribal people eat only locally available plant-based diets which are rich sources of carbohydrates, some minerals and vitamins but no proteins.Study suggests identification and consumption of locally available beans, mushrooms and certain forest-based protein rich plants to overcome the problem.The research...]]></description>
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				<title>RTI reveals violent state by Rajib Chatterjee</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/rti-reveals-violent-state-by-rajib-chatterjee-13030.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee may claim that peace prevails everywhere in West Bengal since her party came to power in the state, but police records say a different story altogether.The state, according to the police records, has witnessed 642 political clashes, including those of student politics, across the districts in the first five months and eighteen days after Banerjee assumed power.A total of 926 political workers that include 128 students were injured in these clashes while 27 people reportedly died...]]></description>
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				<title>No nod, yet Monsanto tried GM maize: RTI by Zia Haq</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/no-nod-yet-monsanto-tried-gm-maize-rti-by-zia-haq-13029.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[US biotech firm Monsanto had put a variety of genetically modified maize on trial without permission and India's biotech regulatory panel overlooked the violation, according to facts accessed under RTI, a leading anti-GM body has said.Such violations could queer the pitch for the biotech giant and sharpen criticism that it pays scant regards to rules, even though Indian farmers have widely taken to its variety of BT cotton, which has helped raise yields by 31%.An RTI query revealed that Monsanto...]]></description>
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				<title>Pvt hospitals still closed for poor patients: RTI reply by Pritha Chatterjee</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/pvt-hospitals-still-closed-for-poor-patients-rti-reply-by-pritha-chatterjee-13028.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[Nearly four years after the High Court mandated reservation of 10 per cent beds and 25 per cent out-patient facilities for the poor in private hospitals in Delhi, only some have complied with the order.As per figures provided by Delhi government in an RTI response to Newsline, none of the major hospitals were able to treat the mandated number of patients. The government received 91 complaints about refusal of treatment last year.Hospitals against whom complaints have been filed include Max...]]></description>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.im4change.org/articles.php?articleId=13028</guid>
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				<title>Whistle blower ends up in ICU by Sunny Sebastian</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/whistle-blower-ends-up-in-icu-by-sunny-sebastian-13027.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[His crime: he complained of corruption in rural job guarantee schemeDhuraram Kuldiya, former Sarpanch of Somalsar Panchayat in Nohkha teshil of Bikaner district, did not sign an SOS he sent to Rajasthan Chief Secretary on Monday in the form of a letter. Instead, his son Bhanwarlal inked it.Not that Dhuraram is illiterate. Admitted to a private hospital here in the State capital now, he cannot use his hands for both are broken at several places. It is not his hands...]]></description>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.im4change.org/articles.php?articleId=13027</guid>
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				<title>Charged with terror, damned by aliases by Vidya Subrahmaniam</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/charged-with-terror-damned-by-aliases-by-vidya-subrahmaniam-13026.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[Mohammad Aamir had just turned 18, when one February day in 1998, he was ambushed by a police van. A month later, he found himself thrown against the cold, forbidding walls of a prison cell in the capital's Tihar jail. The charges were murder, terrorism and waging war against the nation.Aamir, released in January this year after 14 years, was named the main accused in 20 low-intensity bomb blasts executed over 10 months &mdash; between December 1996 and October 1997...]]></description>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.im4change.org/articles.php?articleId=13026</guid>
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				<title>Have pulled some pages, Google tells court by Jayant Sriram</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/have-pulled-some-pages-google-tells-court-by-jayant-sriram-13025.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[Of the 22 companies summoned by a Delhi civil court over objectionable content on their websites, only Google India submitted today that it had removed certain contentious pages. Facebook, Yahoo! India and Microsoft said there was no cause for action against them.In its affidavit, Facebook told the court that it does not control or operate the servers that host the website at www.facebook.com, which are located in the US. Google India, in its report, said it has removed certain webpages...]]></description>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.im4change.org/articles.php?articleId=13025</guid>
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				<title>India to strategise on climate resilient agriculture at international meet today by Gargi Parsai</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/india-to-strategise-on-climate-resilient-agriculture-at-international-meet-today-by-gargi-parsai-13024.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[Observed changes in rainfall patterns and increased temperatures, particularly in the North-Eastern region, are the major projections on which Indian agriculture scientists are pegging their &ldquo;mitigation and adaptation&rdquo; plans in the farm sector in the absence of definitive long-term and area-specific data on climate change.Acknowledging that in India the &ldquo;climate system is extremely complex and poorly understood in terms of extent, timing and impact&rdquo;, Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) scientists, however, emphasise the need for small and marginal farmers...]]></description>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.im4change.org/articles.php?articleId=13024</guid>
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				<title>Children raise issues through street play</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/children-raise-issues-through-street-play-13022.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[-The Deccan Herald&nbsp;Eight-year-old Divya says she wants to study but her school does not provide basic facilities such as books, clean water, food and furniture.&nbsp;&ldquo;There are insects crawling on our food and the water smells like dead rat. Most of the desks in our school are broken. How can we study in a school which is not clean?&rdquo; asked Divya, studying in Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya, Shakarpur, east Delhi. Divya added that girls in her class take turns to sweep their...]]></description>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.im4change.org/articles.php?articleId=13022</guid>
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				<title>Street plays highlight sorry condition of govt schools</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/street-plays-highlight-sorry-condition-of-govt-schools-13021.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[-The Times of IndiaIt's been long that students in Delhi government schools have been at the receiving end of government apathy. Without the basic amenities at their disposal, and being on the blind spot of the lawmakers, theirs is a tale of woe, angst and robbed aspirations. Now, a group of volunteers and government school students have decided to speak up and highlight their plight to the world. Their medium of choice: streetplays.&nbsp;A student falls ill after eating a mid-day...]]></description>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.im4change.org/articles.php?articleId=13021</guid>
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				<title>No Walmart, Please by Rajindar Sachar</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/no-walmart-please-by-rajindar-sachar-13020.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[If the combined Opposition had sat down for weeks so as to find an issue to embarrass the UPA Government and make it a laughing stock before the whole country, they could not have thought of a better issue than the free gift presented to it by the UPA Government by initially insisting that it had irrevocably decided to allow the entry of multi-brand retail leader superstores like Walmart, USA and then, within a few days, withdrawing the proposal with...]]></description>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.im4change.org/articles.php?articleId=13020</guid>
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				<title>Belittling CAG Diminishes Parliaments Effectiveness by BP Mathur</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/belittling-cag-diminishes-parliaments-effectiveness-by-bp-mathur-13019.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[The Comptroller and Auditor General&rsquo;s Report on the 2G Spectrum has created a great deal of controversy and his role is being questioned. The Public Accounts Committee could not finalise its report due to the splitting on the issue on party lines. The JPC currently examining the matter has taken an unprecedented step of taking evidence of a junior officer of the CAG&rsquo;s set up, since retired, and quizzed the CAG about the manner of calculating the loss in the...]]></description>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.im4change.org/articles.php?articleId=13019</guid>
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				<title>PAN to be tool against tax evasion</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/pan-to-be-tool-against-tax-evasion-13018.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[-The Financial Express&nbsp;Come next financial year, the PAN card is likely to become the most potent tool for the Income Tax Department to unearth black money, tax evasion and instances of criminal financing in the country.A recent directive of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to the I-T Dept has asked its officials to launch a special drive against those who have &quot;not furnished their PAN (Permanent Account Number)&quot; while entering into high value transactions.The drive will end on...]]></description>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.im4change.org/articles.php?articleId=13018</guid>
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				<title>Govt mulls pay-and-use water ATMs for slums by Geeta Gupta</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/govt-mulls-pay-and-use-water-atms-for-slums-by-geeta-gupta-13017.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[The problem of water shortage in city slums could find an answer in &lsquo;pay-and-use&rsquo; water ATMs scheme, which the Delhi government is studying at present.According to the proposal (Newsline has a copy), the water will be filtered at a centrally located plant through reverse osmosis, and supplied to a network of decentralised, &ldquo;off-grid&rdquo; and solar-powered ATMs that will be located in areas with low water supply.&ldquo;Potable water will be sold on prepaid smart cards, which can be used at the...]]></description>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.im4change.org/articles.php?articleId=13017</guid>
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				<title>Auctions, options</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/auctions-options-13016.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[-The Indian Express&nbsp;SC is right that natural resources are held in public trust, but its comments on allocation are simplisticIn its ruling in the 2G spectrum allocation case, the Supreme Court said that auctions were the best route for allocation of finite natural resources. &ldquo;While transferring or alienating the natural resources, the State is duty bound to adopt the method of auction by giving wide publicity so that all eligible persons can participate in the process,&rdquo; it said. The court&rsquo;s...]]></description>
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				<title>FSSAI rejects Ministrys bid to back import of sub-standard food grains by Archana Jyoti</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/fssai-rejects-ministrys-bid-to-back-import-of-sub-standard-food-grains-by-archana-jyoti-13015.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[If the Consumer Affairs Ministry had its say, imported food grains and pulses containing hazardous foreign matter would have made its way on to the Indian platter. In fact, import of damaged grains too would have been a possibility - on the pretext of the country witnessing inadequate food grains&rsquo; production.The Ministry, besides a number of importers, had called for a relaxation in the existing set norms for the import of food grains including pulses, even if it had extraneous...]]></description>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.im4change.org/articles.php?articleId=13015</guid>
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				<title>Food min moves SC to prod Plan Panel, 2 Cong-led govts by Nitin Sethi</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/food-min-moves-sc-to-prod-plan-panel-2-cong-led-govts-by-nitin-sethi-13014.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[In an extraordinary effort at resolving policy disputes, the Union food ministry pleaded before the Supreme Court on Thursday to order the Planning Commission to release funds for reforms in the Public Distribution System (PDS) and to order the rural&nbsp;development ministry to provide details of how many people in the category of poorest of poor had been left out of PDS.&nbsp;In its affidavit filed in court, the ministry also accused the Congress-led governments in Haryana and Maharashtra of holding up...]]></description>
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				<title>Food subsidy bill may not go up much: Thomas by Sandip Das</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/food-subsidy-bill-may-not-go-up-much-thomas-by-sandip-das-13013.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[The 2012-13 Budget may not have to provide as big a jump in the food subsidy bill as expected earlier. This is because of a series of measures initiated by the government to cut wastage and improve efficiency, food minister KV Thomas has said.The measures that would bring down the need for funds include the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) and the setting up of modern grain storage facilities, which have helped increase supply chain efficiencies.&ldquo;Through the modernisation drive of...]]></description>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.im4change.org/articles.php?articleId=13013</guid>
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				<title>SC: hasten computerisation of PDS</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/sc-hasten-computerisation-of-pds-13012.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[-The Asian Age&nbsp;In order to plug the pilferage of food items meant for distribution to people below the poverty line, the Supreme Court on Friday directed the Union food secretary to hasten the process of computerisation of entire PDS system.A bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Dipak Misra set a deadline of two months to put in place the computerisation process for the PDS in entire country while asking the food secretary to take up the matter with each state...]]></description>
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				<title>&#039;Govt plays important role in fighting malnutrition&#039; by Syed Intishab Ali</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/039govt-plays-important-role-in-fighting-malnutrition039-by-syed-intishab-ali-13011.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[Jay Naidoo, chair of the GAIN Board, South Africa said 60 million children in India are malnourished, which is higher than the total population of South Africa.Naidoo was in the city at the launch of fortified wheat flour and fortified edible oil for sale in open market. He said, &quot;Around 60% of India's total population is living below poverty line. These people are dependant on the government. So, government plays important role in the fight against malnutrition as it passes...]]></description>
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				<title>Antrix-Devas deal cancelled for national security: V. Narayanasamy</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/antrix-devas-deal-cancelled-for-national-security-v-narayanasamy-13010.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[-IANSThe central government cancelled the Antrix Corporation-Devas Multimedia deal for reasons of national security and not for purported loss of revenue in sale of spectrum, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V. Narayanasamy has said.He also said the government was not discriminating between space scientists and Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officials and, based on their culpability, punitive action would be taken against the latter too.&quot;We did not cancel the deal due to media pressure or the Comptroller and...]]></description>
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				<title>Desi GM seed buried after season of scandal by Jaideep Hardikar</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/desi-gm-seed-buried-after-season-of-scandal-by-jaideep-hardikar-13009.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[In the summer of 2009, farmer Ramesh Dhumale was excited when he got to plant about a kilo of seeds of what was pitched as the country&rsquo;s first indigenously developed genetically modified (GM) cotton.At Rs 200 a kg, the seeds were far cheaper than the Rs 1,500-2,000 that the other GM cotton seeds cost. But the biggest plus was that the farmers could use and reuse the seeds from successive crops.The expensive GM cotton hybrids, based on foreign technology, required...]]></description>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.im4change.org/articles.php?articleId=13009</guid>
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				<title>Facebook removed objectionable content</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/facebook-removed-objectionable-content-13008.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[-PTIFacebook India on Monday filed its compliance report before the Delhi court which had ordered it and 21 other websites to remove objectionable content from their websites.Google India also told the court that it has removed certain web pages from the Internet on which the petitioners raised objections.Meanwhile, Facebook, Yahoo and Microsoft told the court that they have no role to play in the case and there is no cause of action against them in the matter.Additional Civil Judge Praveen...]]></description>
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				<title>Not to grab executive powers: 2G judge by Asok Kumar Ganguly</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/not-to-grab-executive-powers-2g-judge-by-asok-kumar-ganguly-13007.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[Justice Asok Kumar Ganguly,who was part of the two-judge Supreme Court bench that delivered the 2G verdict on Thursday, has written the following article in response to The Telegraph report on Saturday that had quoted former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee. The former Speaker has since said The Telegraph report had given rise to a wrong impression and his comments were strictly confined to policy, not executive decisions. &ldquo;What I had stated was that the court itself has held that...]]></description>
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				<title>2G windfall for social sector by Gaurav Choudhury</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/2g-windfall-for-social-sector-by-gaurav-choudhury-13006.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[The Supreme Court verdict cancelling all the 122 telecom licences that jailed former telecom minister A Raja had issued to eight firms in 2008 has unexpectedly opened up a new window that can help the government earn up to Rs 75,000 crore.The revenue raised from the fresh auction of spectrum freed up after last week's SC ruling will come as a welcome relief for the government that has been struggling to find funds to spend on welfare programmes, including the...]]></description>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.im4change.org/articles.php?articleId=13006</guid>
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				<title>&#039;42% of India&#039;s youth have paid a bribe&#039; by Abhijit Patnaik</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/03942-of-india039s-youth-have-paid-a-bribe039-by-abhijit-patnaik-13005.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[-The Hindustan TimesDemographically, India is one of the youngest countries in the world, with over 50% of our population under 25 years of age. This young generation - with its thriving aspirations and new-found money power - was at its vocal best in 2011.&nbsp;Anna Hazare may have led the anti-graft movement, but these net-savvy, slogan-chanting youth set Twitter and other social media abuzz and came out in vast numbers to support the retired army man.Yet, a majority sees corruption as...]]></description>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.im4change.org/articles.php?articleId=13005</guid>
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				<title>Nanded: MGNREGA success boosts water conservation</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/nanded-mgnrega-success-boosts-water-conservation-13004.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[-Zee News&nbsp;A successful use of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act (MGNREGA) in Nanded, one of the most backward districts of Maharashtra, has seen groundwater levels improving dramatically over the past three years.&nbsp;Shrikar Pardeshi, District Collector, received an award from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for &quot;Effective Initiative under MGNREGA&quot; for 2010-11 a few days ago.&nbsp;&quot;(Over last three years) The groundwater level in the district has increased by 9 meters. The number of tankers supplying water to the villages came down...]]></description>
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				<title>Bishop&#039;s two NGOs received Rs. 54 crore, alleges Union Minister</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/bishop039s-two-ngos-received-rs-54-crore-alleges-union-minister-13003.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[-The Hindu&nbsp;Recent searches conducted by officials of Union Home Ministry on the premises of the Tuticorin Roman Catholic Bishop's official premises in the backdrop of the ongoing anti-Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project protests have yielded information about the influx of foreign funds to the tune of Rs. 54 crore to two non-governmental organisations, Union Minister V. Narayanasamy has said.&ldquo;These two NGOs are being administered by RC Bishop of Tuticorin Diocese Rt. Rev. Yvon Ambroise,&rdquo; the Union Minister of State in the...]]></description>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.im4change.org/articles.php?articleId=13003</guid>
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				<title>3 held for employing child labour</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/3-held-for-employing-child-labour-13002.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[-The HinduAt least 100 adolescents from Madurai, Theni and Ramanathapuram districts are suspected to be engaged in units making &lsquo;murukku' in Jharsuguda district, Orissa, said Deputy Inspector-General of Police (Madurai Range) B. Bala Naga Devi here on Sunday.The Madurai Rural Police arrested three persons, including a broker, on charges of forced labour and wrongful confinement of children.Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Ms. Bala Naga Devi said a 15-year-old boy, Manicka Raja alias Raju, son of Manickam and Vetriselvi...]]></description>
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				<title>2 new Jarawa videos expose officials&#039; role</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/2-new-jarawa-videos-expose-officials039-role-13001.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[&mdash;PTITwo new videos have emerged that allegedly provide more proof of official involvement in &ldquo;human safaris&rdquo; for the benefit of tourists to see the protected Jarawa tribe of the Andaman Islands.The videos do not indicate the date when they were shot, but The Observer newspaper said the first film, a three minutes and 19 seconds clip, shot on a mobile phone, showed half-naked girls from the tribe dancing before an Indian police officer.A second, shorter clip again focuses on a...]]></description>
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				<title>Panel wants a couple&#039;s assets to be treated as joint property by Mahendra Kumar Singh</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/panel-wants-a-couple039s-assets-to-be-treated-as-joint-property-by-mahendra-kumar-singh-13000.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[A high-level government panel has suggested that all movable and immovable assets acquired by a married couple or a couple living together be classified as joint property which would be divided equitably in the event of separation or desertion.The Planning Commission's working group on Women's Agency and Empowerment wants a comprehensive legislation - 'Right to Marital Property Act' - to be brought in which would be applicable to all communities.The panel, which wants a complete re-look at family laws, argued...]]></description>
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				<title>Govt mulls six-and-a-half year MBBS with one-year rural stint</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/govt-mulls-six-and-a-half-year-mbbs-with-one-year-rural-stint-12999.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[-The Times of India&nbsp;India is planning to make its undergraduate MBBS course six-and-a-half years long, instead of the present five-and-a-half years.&nbsp;In a meeting on Saturday, health ministerGhulam Nabi Azad and the Medical Council of India (MCI) discussed amending the MCI Actthat would make a one-year rural posting compulsory for all MBBS students before they can become doctors. The proposal was first mooted by former health minister A Ramadoss in 2007.&nbsp;Speaking to TOI, MCI chairman Dr K K Talwar said, &quot;It...]]></description>
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				<title>Opposition to Monsanto patent on Indian melons by Gargi Parsai</title>
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				<description><![CDATA[Activist Vandana Shiva and an Europe-based NGO have jointly opposed a patent awarded to an American company on virus resistance traits taken from indigenous melon varieties in India.The NGOs &mdash; Navdanya and No Patent on Seeds &mdash; contend that, armed with this patent, the U.S. company (Monsanto) could block access to all breeding material inheriting the virus resistance derived from the Indian melon.Seeking complete revocation of the patent the NGOs, in their application filed in the European Patent Office in...]]></description>
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				<title>Maheshwar dam power cost put at Rs. 10 a unit by Gargi Parsai</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/maheshwar-dam-power-cost-put-at-rs-10-a-unit-by-gargi-parsai-12997.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[The worst fears of the Madhya Pradesh unit of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), have come true with regard to the high per unit cost of power to be produced by the controversial privately-owned Maheshwar hydro project in Madhya Pradesh: Information revealed through an RTI application shows that the private company developing the dam has projected the average cost of electricity to be produced at a whopping Rs. 10 per unit. In the first year it is projected at the...]]></description>
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				<title>Kudankulam: State forms experts panel</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/kudankulam-state-forms-experts-panel-12996.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[-The HinduIn a fresh move to resolve the deadlock over the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNNP), Chief Minister Jayalalithaa announced in the Assembly on Saturday that the State government will constitute a panel of experts immediately to go into the safety system of the proposed plant and &ldquo;perceptions and apprehensions&rdquo; of the local population.The panel would submit its report to the government at the earliest, on the basis of which the State government would take steps, she informed the House...]]></description>
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				<title>SC raps govt on slow PDS digitization by Nikhil Kanekal &amp; Sangeeta Singh</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/sc-raps-govt-on-slow-pds-digitization-by-nikhil-kanekal-sangeeta-singh-12995.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[The battle to provide food security took an interesting turn after the apex court vested itself with a supervisory role in the ongoing computerization of the public distribution system (PDS), currently behind schedule.Accordingly, it directed the topmost bureaucrat in the food ministry&mdash;food secretary Bhushan Chander Gupta&mdash;to not only monitor the PDS computerization, but also submit monthly updates to the Supreme Court.The court was hearing the long-standing public interest case on the right to food filed by the People&rsquo;s Union for...]]></description>
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				<title>Government projects record food output by Ruchira Singh</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/government-projects-record-food-output-by-ruchira-singh-12994.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[India is likely to see record foodgrain production in the current year on good rains, the second advance estimate of the agriculture ministry showed on Friday.Output of total foodgrains comprising rice, wheat, coarse cereals and pulses was seen at 250.42 million tonnes (mt) in the July-June crop year of 2011-12, up 2.3% from the year-ago 244.78 mt, the data showed.This is significant as the optimistic projection comes just ahead of the government&rsquo;s plans to launch an ambitious food security programme.However,...]]></description>
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				<title>Rainy Days by Arti Sharma</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/rainy-days-by-arti-sharma-12993.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[Central pension plan NPS finally gets a boost The &lsquo;New&rsquo; NPS&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Measure: Improve incentives for distributors. Has been recently implemented.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Impact: Was required. But won&rsquo;t be enough, need consumer education to build volumes.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Proposal: Increase fund management fees with an option to lower later.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Impact: Under consideration. But finance ministry unhappy with increase in costs.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Proposal: Relax the norms to appoint more fund managers to increase distribution.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Impact: Unlikely. At this point, there&rsquo;s no real need for more players in...]]></description>
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				<title>Carrots? Heres A Stick! by Paranjoy Guha Thakurta</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/carrots-heres-a-stick-by-paranjoy-guha-thakurta-12992.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[The PM, Raja, TRAI, telecom firms... the apex court lets no one off the hook The Supreme Court&rsquo;s stinging judgement against the government in the 2G spectrum scam case is an extremely significant attempt by the country&rsquo;s highest court to curb the corrupt nexus between business and politics and will further damage the UPA&rsquo;s already battered credibility. The court&rsquo;s decision will not merely have far-reaching consequences on India&rsquo;s political economy, it has highlighted the huge price that Manmohan Singh himself...]]></description>
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				<title>Don&#039;t trash this law, the fault lies in non-implementation by Brinda Karat &amp; Sabu George</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/don039t-trash-this-law-the-fault-lies-in-non-implementation-by-brinda-karat-sabu-george-12991.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[There can be little quarrel with the argument that India requires a comprehensive policy to prevent sex selection as put forward by National Advisory Council members Farah Naqvi and A.K. Shiva Kumar in The Hindu (&ldquo;India &amp; the sex selection conundrum,&rdquo; January 24, 2012). That the use of sex selection technologies to abort female foetuses is linked to the increasing devaluation and disempowerment of women is well known. It is surprising however that in the &ldquo;complex interface&rdquo; described by the...]]></description>
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				<title>Google unveils plans for country-specific content filtering</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/google-unveils-plans-for-country-specific-content-filtering-12990.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[&mdash;PTILess than a week after a similar move by micro-blogging site Twitter, Internet major Google has unveiled plans to make content on its blogger platform selectively available, depending on the local rules of each country.Google is the latest entity to come out with the option to restrict online content amid a raging debate over moves by many countries, including India, to enforce regulations on the internet.Google, which launched its blogging service &mdash; Blogger &mdash; in 1999, said the rules would...]]></description>
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				<title>Court grills CBI over its Pathribal probe by J Venkatesan</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/court-grills-cbi-over-its-pathribal-probe-by-j-venkatesan-12989.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[It seeks statement fromthe Special Task Force chiefThe Supreme Court on Friday asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to answer certain questions relating to the 2000 Pathribal encounter case in Jammu and Kashmir initiated by it.The CBI has initiated a case against five Army officers involved in an alleged fake encounter since the Army did not take any action under the Army Act and also did not allow the criminal courts from proceeding with the prosecution.A Bench of Justices B.S....]]></description>
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				<title>Cannot invoke AFSPA in rape, murder: SC to Army by Krishnadas Rajagopal</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/cannot-invoke-afspa-in-rape-murder-sc-to-army-by-krishnadas-rajagopal-12988.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[Questioning the extent to which the Army can claim blanket immunity under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), the Supreme Court today said rape and murder committed by its personnel should be considered a &ldquo;normal crime&rdquo;, and that there is &ldquo;no question of sanction&rdquo; from the government before prosecution of offenders in such cases.Under AFSPA, prior approval is required before prosecution or any other legal action can be initiated against armed forces personnel operating in areas declared &ldquo;disturbed&rdquo; by...]]></description>
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				<title>Learnt in Godhra, forgotten in Jaipur by Aakar Patel</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/learnt-in-godhra-forgotten-in-jaipur-by-aakar-patel-12987.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[It is difficult to explain to Indians the wrongness of collective punishment. This is because our identity is collective, and so is our behaviourThis month is the 10th anniversary of the incident at Godhra and the events in Gujarat that followed. When the violence began, it was said that the media had made the violence worse. Often this was by its innocence and sometimes by its malice.Was this true? The Editors Guild of India sent a team to investigate. Dileep...]]></description>
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				<title>School body sets Feb 15 deadline for RTE conversion by Ritika Jha</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/school-body-sets-feb-15-deadline-for-rte-conversion-by-ritika-jha-12986.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[The shortage in the number of applicants for seats reserved for less privileged children in private schools appears to be an advantage for the institutions to prevent the proper implementation of the Right to Education Act in the city.The RTE Act makes it mandatory for all private schools to reserve 25 per cent of the seats at the entry class level for underprivileged children and teach them free of cost. There have been no takers for over 75 per cent...]]></description>
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				<title>RTI man gets a taste of cops strong arm Kapil Dave</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/rti-man-gets-a-taste-of-cops-strong-arm-kapil-dave-12985.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[A man from Vasna who had filed an application under the Right to Information Act seeking to know why police stations in the city did not display essential information for the benefit of RTI applicants has alleged police are using intimidatory tactics, summoning him for hearings at short notices and making him sit with criminals.Manish Benani, who owns a small printing press, had requested former police commissioner of Ahmedabad Sudhir Sinha in September last year to take appropriate action about...]]></description>
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				<title>Google cannot use Indias IT laws as shield by Arpit Parashar</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/google-cannot-use-indias-it-laws-as-shield-by-arpit-parashar-12984.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[In the case against Google and Facebook for posting &ldquo;objectionable content&rdquo; on their websites, petitioner journalist Vinay Rai&rsquo;s counsel H Hariharan argued in the Delhi High Court (HC) on Thursday that Google could not cite the country&rsquo;s information technology laws and seek exemption from censoring content since it modified the content on its website to &ldquo;generate business&rdquo;.Hariharan argued that Google India could not get exemption under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act since it was not just a search...]]></description>
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				<title>21 websites including Google and Facebook liable to face prosecution for hosting inflammatory contents</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/21-websites-including-google-and-facebook-liable-to-face-prosecution-for-hosting-inflammatory-contents-12983.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[-PTI&nbsp;All 21 websites, including Google and Facebook, summoned earlier by a magisterial court, are liable to face prosecution for being privy to the hosting of inflammatory contents on their webpages, the Delhi High Court was told today.&nbsp;The counsel for one Vinay Rai, who had moved the trial court for prosecution of various websites, including social networking sites and web search engines, argued before a bench of Justice Suresh Kait that the websites were knowing about contents of their webpages and...]]></description>
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				<title>Google, Facebook not above law: HC by Utkarsh Anand</title>
				<link>http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/google-facebook-not-above-law-hc-by-utkarsh-anand-12982.html</link>
				<description><![CDATA[Google and Facebook do have the right to freedom of speech and expression but they are not above the law, the Delhi High Court said on Thursday.&ldquo;They are not above the law and their rights are to be determined under the laws of the land,&rdquo; Justice Suresh Kait said, hearing a petition that sought to be heard in the matter on the ground that a sanction to prosecute the websites violated his fundamental right to speech and expression.&ldquo;Nobody is against...]]></description>
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