AGARTALA: Union minister Jairam Ramesh has said 'Aadhaar' numbers, the unique 12-digit identification numbers given to residents of India, would be used to provide different social pensions, MGNREG

States asked to send proposals for additional funds

“To stop such practices, the government should consider if the heads of the panchayati bodies can be given liberty similar to that of the ministers, chief ministers and the Prime Minister wherein i

The National Council for Land Reforms (NCLR), which held its maiden meeting on Tuesday under the chairmanship of rural development minister Jairam Ramesh, proposed to launch a new scheme for “homestead rights to provide land for each homeless rural poor.” The council, which is headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has also proposed to amend the SEZ Act, aiming to put a ban on exemptions on diversion of land in Scheduled Areas, populated by tribals.

Dhamra: Showering praise on the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for being versatile, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said that besides developing missi

Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, stating that his personal views on the Athirapally project or the Western Ghats had not changed, said the report submitted by the Madhav Gadgil-led Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel was balanced and detailed as well.

Talking to the media here on Monday, Mr. Ramesh said though he had “nothing to do with Athirapally now since the Environment and Forests portfolio was not anymore with him”, his views on the issue had not changed and that he believed the Gadgil panel to have done an “outstanding job”.

Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has said the country will take at least 10 years to achieve the Nirmal Bharath status, when all the 2.4 lakh grama panchayats in the nation could be declared free of open defecation under the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA).

Addressing a review meeting of the NBA’s Kerala version here on Monday, Mr. Ramesh said only 28,000 grama panchayats, constituting a mere 12 per cent, were currently declared as Nirmal Grama Panchayats.

Launching green toilets very close to country's missile test-firing facility, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said there is no use blasting Agni missiles if the sanitation proble

Calling for research by defence scientists for the common man, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said it did not matter how many Agni missiles India launched, but what matter

DRDO applauded for developing the toilets

Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Sunday announced that his Ministry would soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Defence for installation of bio-toilets in 1000 gram panchayats across the country. It would go a long way in improving sanitation in rural India, Mr.Ramesh said. The project will be implemented in coordination with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at a cost of Rs. 400 crore, which will be provided by the Union Rural Development Ministry, Mr. Ramesh said.