-The Hindu What it signifies, what it does not tell us and what it will definitely not be used for Great shrillness has marked the current furore over the Planning Commission's latest poverty estimates. No surprise, therefore, that understanding and wisdom have flowed in an inverse proportion. Surprising and sad, however, is the fact that some political leaders have at times spoken in a manner deeply hurtful to the aam aadmi and...

-The Indian Express   How Chhattisgarh became a sanctuary, and then a laboratory, for Naxals Some time ago, Chhattisgarh hit the headlines because of a Maoist attack on state Congress leaders, in which V.C. Shukla and Mahendra Karma died. Since then, the Congress has accused the BJP government of a conspiracy, and some BJP leaders have accused former chief minister Ajit Jogi of being part of a conspiracy himself. Politicising this tragic episode...

-The Indian Express Noida (Uttar Pradesh): The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday suspended an IAS officer who had taken on the sand mafia by clamping down on illegal mining in the Yamuna and Hindon riverbeds over the last few months. Durga Shakti Nagpal, a 2009-batch IAS officer posted as Sub Divisional Magistrate (Sadar) in Gautam Buddh Nagar, had impounded several trucks engaged in illegal quarrying and registered over 20 FIRs. The reason cited...

-The Times of India KOLKATA: After months of being in denial mode over the rise in sexual crimes in Bengal, the Mamata Banerjee government has been forced to take action. Kolkata Police is setting up an exclusive unit by Independence Day to protect women, especially tourists. Women will make up half of this new squad. TOI has relentlessly campaigned to make the city safe for women and the activism has yielded results. The...

-The Telegraph Ranchi: If cronyism and callousness led to the Bihar midday meal tragedy earlier this month, Jharkhand is staring at a credit crisis that is barely able to put food on plates in schools and anganwadis. Jharkhand's multi-crore food-for-children schemes - midday meal for schools and supplementary nutrition for anganwadis - are starved of funds and limping on credit, a survey conducted by the state adviser to the commissioner of Supreme...