A major step to make India open defecation free was taken on Thursday with the ministry of rural development headed by minister Jairam Ramesh joining hands with the ministry of defence under defence minister A.K. Antony to set up bio-digester toilets in 2.4 lakh gram panchayats in India.

The technology for these eco-friendly toilets has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and was originally used for human waste disposal for armed forces personnel deployed at high altitudes. But the technology has now been extended to suit all climates and biodigesters have been installed in various locations in J&K, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

Agartala: The Central government has provided additional quota of rice at a subsidized rate for the poor living in 12 backward districts in the Northeast, a State government official said here on Monday.

“The union ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution on the direction of the Supreme Court has allocated additional quota of food grain to identified 174 districts in 27 States, which include 12 districts in Northeast region,” said Tripura Principal Secretary (food department) BK Roy.

Gangtok, July 17: A landslide near the Bengal-Sikkim border at Rangpo last night kept the main NH31A route to the hill state blocked for nearly 17 hours.

KOLKATA, 10 JULY: Tribal people from West Bengal will visit their counterparts in Odisha, Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh and vice-versa for cultural exchanges and to share best practices in agriculture,

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has extended loans worth Rs 1,462 cr to the government to fund railways transport services, boost agri-business infrastructure in Bihar and improve road infrastructure in the north-eastern region of the country.

In three separate loan agreements signed between ADB and the government, Rs 750 crore will be used to develop the railway system, Rs 374 crore to improve road connectivity in the north-eastern region and Rs 338 crore will be used to boost agri-business infrastructure in Bihar, an official statement said today.

Guwahati, July 9: The Tea Board of India has decided to institute awards to encourage small tea growers of the region to grow and manufacture good quality tea.

In a setback to NCC Limited, formerly Nagarjuna Construction Company Limited, the Sikkim government is believed to have cancelled the proposed Teesta-I hydel power project that was bagged by the company.

According to a senior official of the Sikkim government, the state home department has issued a notification cancelling the 280 MW power project. "The project was cancelled for two reasons. Firstly, continuous opposition from locals on the project and secondly, environmental issues.

Decrying the lack of proper sanitation facilities, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Friday said toilets built over the last 10 years across the country are being used for storing food grain.

"In last 10 years, toilets have been built (across the country)...But toilets are not being used for the purpose for which they had been built. They are being used for storing food grain...they have been turned into storage godowns and they have been locked," Ramesh told reporters here on Friday.

Agartala: The Rural Development Ministry has embarked on a ten-year mission to make India open-defecation free country, said Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh.

The Union Minister, who held a review meeting with representatives of Northeastern states on Drinking Water and Sanitation (DWS) at Prajna Bhavan here on Saturday, told reporters said that the Centre had earmarked Rs. 3500 crore during 2012-13 FY under Nirmal Bharat Abhijan (open-defecation free campaign).