NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday approved a Rs.683 crore project to improve the living standards of rural areas in four north-eastern States – Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura – fightin

Six years after it was launched, the plan to have 24/7 functioning community health centres (CHCs) under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) is yet to be realised, largely because of paucity o

Concerned over the large number of child deaths due to measles every year, the Centre has launched a massive anti-measles vaccination drive.

Even as the Supreme Court has set a deadline of 31 December for construction of toilets in all government-run schools, it will prove an uphill task for the authorities as nearly 45 per cent of gove

AGARTALA/AIZAWL: Incidence of cancer has been rising alarmingly in the hilly northeastern region of India, almost half the cases being attributed to consumption of tobacco products, experts say.

According to experts, Mizoram tops the rate of cancer patients with an incidence of 200 in 100,000 each year. Though other northeastern states have an average of 75 to 125 per 100,000, the numbers are higher than the national average.

The so-called Avahan project was launched in 2003 in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, along with the northeastern states of Manipur and Nagaland, using a massive grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

With only a few States having sent in their comments on the Food Ministry's draft National Food Security Bill, 2011, till the closing date on Friday, the Centre is planning to extend the date by a month or two, official sources said.

GUWAHATI: “There is leakage in the public distribution system (PDS) in the Northeast. But it is the responsibility of the governments of the States concerned to check the leakage in PDS. The Central Government has no role to play in this, it only provides the PDS items to the States. Of course, PDS pilferage has reduced in recent times primarily because of the fact that the system has been computerized by issuing biometric cards to the beneficiaries,” said Prof KV Thomas, Union Minister of State (Independent charge) for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution while addressing a press conference in Guwahati on Thursday.

Chennai The Rubber Board is awaiting states’ nod to conduct the field trials of genetically modified (GM) rubber crop, said Sheela Thomas, chairperson, Rubber Board.

AIZAWL: The Central government has sanctioned 134 projects worth Rs.2,610 crore for poverty alleviation, development of infrastructure and providing basic services in the urban areas of the eight Northeastern states, an official release said here Sunday. “Under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), 134 projects with a cost of Rs.2,610 crore have been approved,” said the release quoting union Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Kumari Selja.