Terming "ridiculous' the assurance of the Delhi Government vis-

A few women protestors, who were demonstrating against the methodology used by the Government for identifying Below Poverty Line (BPL) families, barged into the Planning Commission building here on Tu

With the Capital's power generation unlikely to increase till 2010, the Delhi government has started emphasising on energy conservation. In a bid to promote optimum electricity utilisation among youngsters, the power and education departments have come together to spread awareness among schoolchildren. The awareness initiative will be first implemented in about 500 schools in east and central Delhi, before being carried out in other parts of the city. Termed Bijli Gyan Abhiyan, the discom which caters to these areas

Energy Conservation is the need of the hour. And, awareness about it is the key. Keeping this in mind, the BYPL has planned the Bijli Gyan Abhiyan that targets students across 500 schools in East and Central Delhi. Delhi education minister Arvinder Singh Lovely launched the Abiyan at the Delhi Secretariat today. A Bijli Gyan CD was also released. The CD carries information on energy conservation. "The content of the 10-minute long CD has been carefully chosen and scripted by professionals,' said a BSES official. Besides covering topics like

The MCD seems to have woken up to a major problem faced by women in the Capital

The Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri

The state cabinet on Monday revised the starting amount for the Ladli scheme to Rs 10,000 from the existing 5,000 at the birth of a girl child in a family with an annual income of less than Rs 1 lakh. While the move is obviously aimed at wooing Congress's traditional votebank in the slum clusters and unauthorised colonies, the irony is that the rules of the scheme, which is supposed to be effective from January 1, 2008, are yet to be notified three months after the cabinet had given its initial nod to the project. Under the present form of the scheme, every eligible girl child is entitled to Rs 10,000 at the time of birth and then onwards, Rs 5,000 each at the time of admission to classes I, VI, IX, X and XII. The money will be kept as a long term fixed deposit in the name of the child who can encash it when she turns 18 and the money she will thus get in hand will be Rs 1 lakh. Chief minister Sheila Dikshit, after the cabinet meeting said:

In an age where open-source technologies such as Wikipedia and Linux are re-defining the world, seasoned journalist M. B. Lal has come up with a simple non-patented invention that aims at helping people keep cool during the sizzling hot summers

Sonia Nudges Manmohan On Package For Farmers, Women And Tax Breaks Setting the agenda for the government, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi has asked it to focus on farm loans, women-related schemes and income tax slabs in the Budget. During three rounds of deliberations with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spread over the last week, the UPA chief, sources disclosed, sought to nudge her visitor on what she thinks should be the defining themes of the Budget in an election year. Sonia was keen on a package for farmers and there were already signs to suggest that the PM may have already heeded the advice. Addressing a group of farmers from Punjab asking for debt relief for small and marginal land owners, Singh said, "I would like to assure you that under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi, our government will pay attention to the demands listed in the memorandum submitted.' The Congress chief also made no bones of the fact that the package figures on the top of the "to do' list she has framed for the government. "We know farmers are facing difficult times. I hope, I know Manmohan Singh's government will give due attention to your demands,' Sonia said. Sources rated the chances of a waiver, at least on the interest component, for defaulters among small and marginal farmers as a certainty. As reported by TOI on December 31, the package could cover bad and doubtful loans worth at least Rs 30,000 crore. While the PM refused to get into details citing Budget confidentiality, the government's receptivity to suggestions from political leadership should be happy augury for those expecting a relook at income tax slabs. While the government was expected to push up the exemption limit to Rs 1.25 lakh from Rs 1.1 lakh at present, an upward revision in the tax slab was not being hotly pursued by the finance ministry. An increase in the basic slab of 10% from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh would cost the exchequer around Rs 5,000 crore and the tax department brass was not keen on foregoing easy money coming its way. Given the enhanced stakes for the party in wooing urban India, the party leadership is hoping that Sonia's prod might cause them to pull out their calculators once again. Delimitation has increased the number of urban constituencies where tax payers constitute a significant slice of the electorate while Delhi, which boasts of the largest number of salaried tax payers in the country, is scheduled to go to polls later this year. The party expects tax concession to help blunt BJP's attempt to reclaim its constituency among the urban middle class. Apart from the plight of farmers, Sonia has also asked the government to focus on schemes aimed at empowering women. She had made this priority plain while on a visit to her constituency last week, and the preference for "gender justice' was repeated during the interactions with Singh. Sources said that among other things, the Integrated Child Development Scheme was likely to be strengthened. sidhartha.kumar@timesgroup.com diwakar.asthana@timesgroup.com POPULAR TOUCH: Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi with a delegation of farmers from Punjab, in New Delhi on Monday