-The Hindu The Rajasthan State Commission for Protection of Child Rights is developing a protocol for elimination of child labour with its contents devoted to various aspects of child trafficking, children being forced into hazardous occupations and rehabilitation of rescued child labourers. Panel chairperson Deepak Kalra said at a workshop on child labour here on Monday that the protocol would be submitted to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot with request for urgent action...

As the government moves to ban employment of child below 18 years in hazardous industries, new data puts the government in a poor light over enforcement of existing provisions. As per the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, employment of children below the age of 14 in hazardous industries is banned. It includes employing them in roadside eateries and as domestic helps.   The ministry of labour in a reply...

-The Telegraph Human rights groups today claimed New Delhi had a role in allowing ex-army officer Avtar Singh to escape the country as a free trial could have allegedly unravelled the involvement of people at the “highest level” in various murders in Jammu and Kashmir. The Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Societies (JKCCS), which includes several rights groups, today pressed for an impartial probe into the “institutional support and circumstances under...

An exhibition of paintings by local artists as a tribute to M.F. Husain on his first death anniversary was cancelled in Pune, following opposition from right-wing outfit Hindu Jan Jagriti Samiti (HJJS). On June 8, Shivaji Vatkar of the HJJS wrote to organiser and gallery curator Raju Sutar, claiming that Husain had “hurt the religious and national sentiments of crores of Hindus and Indians through his blasphemous paintings of Hindu deities...

-The Hindu After a prolonged struggle with low enrolment rates for children in the school-going age, India now has to come to grips with another crucial issue: poor learning outcomes for students in the six to 14 age group. National data on this is not comprehensive, but available empirical evidence points to weak achievements for a significant percentage of students. In rural India, which is more disadvantaged, the highest level of...