-Live Mint Almost two decades after the Panchayati Raj Act was notified, a key aim of the legislation remains unfulfilled Papapatti/Madurai district: S. Muruganadam, 38, is the Dalit president of the Papapatti village panchayat in Madurai district and a post-graduate in political science. His term ends in 2016 and he has made up his mind not to run for re-election. "I think a panchayat president's post is an important post because only...

-Mid-Day.com Mumbai: Thane resident Priya Mahunta is still undergoing surgeries for the 45 per cent burns she sustained in a kitchen accident last year. But despite the scars and marks, which hindered her learning, she has done the unthinkable. Thirteen-year-old Mahunta has passed her Std VIII examinations with flying colours, securing 94 per cent, in spite of being snubbed by several tuition classes from the area who were afraid that other...

-The Hindu Business Line   The general tendency among Indian policy makers currently is to blame international price movements for the rise in prices of essential Food items in India. The extent to which this claim is valid is assessed by examining the specific case of wheat. It is no secret that Indian Food prices are increasingly affected by international prices. Ever since 2002, when all quantitative restrictions on Indian imports of agricultural...

-The Hindustan Times Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has aptly described the persistence of mass undernutrition in India as a "national shame". What is even more shameful, however, is the passivity of the government - and of the country - towards this humanitarian emergency. The passivity begins with a reluctance to face the facts. The first step towards more effective nutrition policies in India is regular monitoring of the nutrition status of...

-The Telegraph Kolkata: Proceeds from the Saradha Group kept Bengal police on the move - at least in Baruipur, according to information stumbled upon by investigators into the default scandal. The police have learnt that Arindam Das, an agent who apparently made the highest collections from Baruipur in South 24-Parganas, had gifted two Tata Sumos (WB26R6763 and WB20U6409) to the local police station. "The two SUVs used in Baruipur police station were gifts...