-The Times of India NEW DELHI: With the recent murder of RTI activist Bhupendra Vira's, the death toll of those using the transparency law to target corruption and malpractices has gone up to 56. In fact, there has been more than 311 instances of harassment of citizens including murder, attacks and intimidation from the time the law came into force in 2005, according to an analysis by Delhi-based advocacy group CHRI. Reports...

-The Times of India KOLKATA: The blaze at a Bhubaneshwar hospital on Monday, in which 20 people were killed, has revived the tragic memory of the 2011 devastating fire at AMRI hospital that killed 91 patients but hundreds of Kolkata health facilities are apparently yet to learn a lesson. In spite of heightened vigilance and stricter implementation of prevention norms by fire services, especially after the AMRI disaster, government facilities and scores...

-Deccan Chronicle Residue exceeding permissible levels found in 100 out of 1,920 samples. Visakhapatnam: Andhra Pradesh and Telangana account for a hefty 24 per cent share of pesticide consumption in the country. The two states are grappling with increased pesticide residue in food commodities, while pesticides can help repel insects, pests and other diseases, their excessive/irrational use can lead to health hazards, ecological disturbance and disruption, increased pesticide resistance, etc. The adverse...

-Livemint.com We don’t know enough about the socio-economic status of different caste groups, and our political class doesn’t want us to know Over the past couple of years, one Indian state after another has been on the boil because of caste-based agitations. The latest state to be engulfed in caste conflict is Maharashtra, where a stir by the dominant caste of Marathas seems to have led other backward classes (OBCs) and...

-TheWire.in Each time a small farmer migrates to an urban area, it means one food producer less and one food consumer more. Rome: Now that world attention is focused on the fast growing process of urbanisation, with two in three people estimated to be living in towns and cities by the year 2030, an old “equation” jumps rapidly to mind: each time a small farmer migrates to an urban area, it equals...