Late Night Edition

Headlines:

• Government Claims Job Scheme Has Benefited 3 Crore Families

Government on Wednesday claimed in the Rajya Sabha that over three crore families had benefited from the National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) programme and Rs 8,000 crore had been transferred to the accounts of the beneficiaries.

• Lok Capital Increases Fund Size to $22 Million

Lok Capital LLC, an India focused microfinance venture capital fund, has raised its fund size by about 80 per cent to $ 22 million from $14.5 million (as of November 2007). The investors in this final close is not known. Lok Capital has already invested a total of $3 million in two MFIs – Janalakshmi in Bangalore and Spandana (alongwith JM Financial) in Hyderabad.

• Google Launches Non-Profit Portal

Google has launched a dedicated portal of Google services for non-profit organizations. Google for Non-Profits offers “a one-stop shop for tools to help advance your organization’s mission in a smart, cost-efficient way.” This site includes ideas and tutorials on ways Google tools can be used to promote non-profits, raise money and operate more efficiently.

More headlines after the break.

• Government Pulled up for Not Filling SC/ST Posts

A parliamentary committee has contested the government’s claim that posts reserved for SCs/STs at various levels go vacant because suitable candidates are not found, and said it was more due to lack of zeal of authorities and poor publicity.

• Ramadoss Plans Tobacco Monitors for Classrooms

The Health Ministry is planning to introduce tobacco monitors as part of its strategy to involve the youth in the fight against tobacco. Each school has been allocated around Rs 8,000 for conducting anti-tobacco activities within the institution. According to the plan, over 50 schools per district are part of the pilot project.

• Kindo, Family Based Networking Site to Launch Indian Portal

 Kindo, London based family networking portal is planning to enter the Indian Internet Market with an exclusive hindi portal. Is Kindo a genealogy site? Is it a family social network? Well, actually a mix of both and the idea is to connect you with the family, create the family network, map out familly connections – right from blood relations to distant cousins.