IMPHAL: Jairam Ramesh, the Union Minister for rural development, drinking water and sanitation, was obviously not satisfied with the slow progress of construction works in the rural areas.

Finally, there is good news for the people of Haryana as the state is set to become 100 per cent defecation-free and achieve complete sanitation in next two years.

New Delhi: In a boost to making rural India free from open defecation, the Centre has increased the grant for construction of a toilet under the Total Sanitation Campaign from Rs 4,600 to Rs 10,000

Jairam Ramesh’s criticism of NREGA highlights that a rights-based approach to poverty reduction cannot work without improving implementation The clamour for the right to social pensions is another

After the pet project of the former President PURA (provision of urban amenities in rural areas) failed to take off, the Centre has restructured it into PURA 2.0 to focus on rapidly urbanising rural areas, which are not being administered by municipal bodies. Unveiling PURA 2.0, Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh said the scheme would focus on Trishanku, a term he coined to describe neither rural nor urban, areas.

Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has pointed out inherent flaws in the UPA’s flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) and hinted at a re-look.

With Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on their side, the Orissa government has sidestepped the concerns expressed by Central intelligence agencies and the Home Ministry to work with gram pa

His company's software has, over the decades, enabled legions of Indian youth to become computer engineers, and helped the country lay claim to IT superpower status.

Having launched a global quest to “reinvent the toilet” last year, Bill Gates — Microsoft founder-turned-philanthropist — could soon turn his focus on the filthy toilets used by Indian Railways passengers.

In a meeting with Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh here on Wednesday, Mr. Gates discussed the idea of jointly funding a worldwide competition to find innovative solutions for the sanitation problems faced by 11 million passengers every day as they travel on the world's most extensive rail network.

BHUBANESWAR/MALKANGIRI: As a part of the Centre’s initiative to contain the spread of Maoism by taking up developmental projects in the affected areas, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Rames