-The Telegraph Patna: Farmers in Bihar have set their sights on foreign funds for a change in their fortune though economists have cast a doubt on it. Ask Nitish Kumar, a farmer of Darveshpura village in Nalanda district, who hogged the limelight a couple of months ago with record production of potatoes. Nitish had no one by his side when he was forced to go for distress sale of the same potato, which...

India earned another dubious distinction in child mortality with the highest number of deaths of children under-five-years of age, according to a UNICEF report released in September 2012. India's toll is higher than the deaths in Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo and Pakistan put together. Globally, almost 19,000 children under five years of age die every day across the world a quarter of which is in India alone. India accounted for...

-The Times of India Compulsory tonsuring, a common practice on patients of mental illnesses, is all set to be banned. When admitted in any mental institute, such patients will wear their personal clothes and not be forced to wear uniforms provided by the establishment. Now, menstrual care of women mental illness patients will be taken care by the institute Mental homes will need to have facilities for leisure, recreation, education and religious practices...

-The Telegraph The Planning Commission has proposed that children undergo a year’s pre-schooling at government schools before they are admitted to Class I. If the proposal is accepted, it would virtually make education a right for children between the age of five and 14, rather than six and 14 as laid down by the Right to Education Act, education experts said. Pre-schooling is now a facet only of private schools in India. Nearly...

-The Indian Express Full Planning Commission chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today approved 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) document that proposes to lower annual average economic growth rate target during the period to 8.2 per cent from 9 per cent envisaged earlier in view of fragile recovery. "The Full Planning Commission approved the draft 12th Five Year Plan document, subject to certain suggestions made in the meeting," Planning Commission Deputy Chairman...