-Deccan Herald As primitive tribes continue to be in a state of acute poverty, ‘schedule area’ status for settlements of evicted tribals from Nagarahole National Park will favour their development. The status will also solve the problem of representation of tribals in political institutions, which will help them benefit from the welfare programmes aimed at them, said Muzaffar Assadi, Chairman of the High Court-appointed Committee on Tribal Issues of Rajiv Gandhi...

-The Hindu Sequel to complaints that minority welfare schemes not percolating to intended beneficiaries Ahead of the next general elections in 2014, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government has proposed constitution of a high-power committee to review and assess the implementation of Justice Rajinder Sachar Committee’s recommendations and Prime Minister’s 15-Point Programme. This comes after a barrage of complaints from the Muslim community and a perception widely shared by people inside and...

-The Hindu With fresh evidence surfacing of his involvement in the Suryanelli gang rape case, P.J. Kurien should step down as Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson, the CPI(M) said on Sunday. In a statement here, the CPI(M) said if he did not step down, he should be removed from the post, in the background of the Supreme Court annulling the Kerala High Court order acquitting 35 accused persons and ordering re-examination of the...

-Counter Currents The Aadhaar scheme of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is to provide India's billion-plus people with a unique identification number. Enrolling into the scheme was and still is not mandatory, though it was mentioned that it would be difficult for people to access public services in the absence of enrolment. The scheme requires individuals to provide their photograph, fingerprints and iris scan together with documentary personal information,...

-The Hindu Ranchi: Late Tuesday morning, Malo Devi, a farmer at Manatu, 20 km from Ranchi, carried her infant grandson Gautam Mahto in her arms across the fields behind her house and had just set him down on a flat rock under a tree, before she started gathering dry leaves for fuel, when she heard a whizzing sound. Three-year-old Gautam lay bleeding, hit in the left leg by a stray bullet...