The Panchayati Raj system has been a total failure and retrograde. Mere expense-audit won’t be enough; the need is for a total revamping of the system by ensuring the answerability of the pradhans

The Aam Aadmi Party has created electoral records in Punjab by winning 91 out of 117 states breaking the nexus of Congress and Akali Dal in Punjab. Bhagwant Mann is all set to be sworn in as the new Punjab CM. More details here.

Residents of three villages – Piyala, Kalipur and Waria – in Durgapur, West Bengal complain they are forced to eat and breathe black dust emanating from the nearby thermal power plant. The air, admits the pollution control board, is heavily polluted, and there are allegations of flyash being dumped in the local water bodies. A ground report.

Half a billion Indians have been able to open their no-frills Jan Dhan bank account for the first time in the last nine years thanks to Bank Mitras and Bank Sakhis who teamed up with village heads to achieve this feat.

A government school teacher in a village in Bharatpur, Rajasthan composes poetry and songs in Mewati language to increase public awareness about ills in society. His aim is to promote harmony amongst the common folk through his melodies and verses.

Of the total Rs 32,550 crore mining fund — officially known as the District Mineral Foundation — collected by all the mining states in the country, Jharkhand has the second highest. But, almost 55 per cent of the sanctioned fund remains unutilised in the state.