-Down to Earth   Reserve Bank of India refuses to bail out three district cooperative banks Kharif sowing season is close at hand, but around 100,000 farmers of Nagpur, Wardha and Buldhana districts in Maharashtra are unlikely to get agricultural loan or hailstorm relief from the District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) because the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has rejected banking applications of these banks. Worse, fixed deposits worth Rs 1,716 crore belonging...

-The Indian Express     Mumbai: It's been eight months since the state government launched ‘Manodhairya Yojana', a scheme to provide monetary relief and rehabilitation for rape and acid attack victims, including women and children. But with little advocacy, lack of counsellors in civic-run hospitals, poor post-trauma support as mandated by the scheme, and most importantly, policy apathy, ‘Manodhairya' risks being a laudable scheme just on paper. AAMIR KHAN and TABASSUM BARNAGARWALA speak...

-The Hindu   Where prison facilities are not equipped to deal with the specific needs of persons with disabilities, Arrest and detention in custody should be a measure of last resort We have a slew of cases around prisoners' rights that emphasise their right to dignity and their right against cruel and degrading punishment, which have been understood to violate the right to life, guaranteed by Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. In...

-Odisha Sun Times Bureau   Keonjhar (Odisha): In a shocking, shameful and barbaric incident, a lady worker and a cook of an anganwadi centre in Odisha's Keonjhar district allegedly threw piping hot liquid residue (peja) of cooked rice on a child, leaving him critically injured. The child was reportedly punished for ‘defiling' the boiled eggs kept for the children in the Anganwadi Kendra. The child's father Rilu Munda has alleged that his child suffered...

-The Hindustan Times Noida: Mystery shrouds the death of Right to Information activist Chandra Mohan Sharma (38), who was allegedly charred inside his car Friday night. On the complaint of a family member, a case of murder has been lodged against five people at Kasna police station. However, no Arrests have been made so far. If foul play is unearthed, this would the third episode of an RTI activist being targeted...