-PTI NEW DELHI: The government's decision to make Aadhaar mandatory for subsidised foodgrains through public distribution system (PDS) today came under the scanner of the Delhi High Court. A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal issued notice to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and sought their response before the next date of hearing on APRIl 24. The bench also sought the stand of the...

-Hindustan Times The last few weeks have seen a spate of government notifications making Aadhaar mandatory for receiving the benefits of government programmes. The most recent orders relate to an Aadhaar requirement for children to access schools (even under their fundamental right to education), mid-day meals, supplementary nutrition (ICDS) and scholarships. These directives raise a number of ethical as well as practical questions, besides violating children’s right to education, nutrition and...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Cash seizures from the five states that voted in February-March were more than three times the amount seized during the 2012 elections in these states, despite the post-demonetisation limits on cash withdrawals. The rise of the seizures from Rs 50.78 crore in 2012 to Rs 184.85 crore challenges the government's claim that the note recall would cleanse India of the "cancer of corruption". Liquor, drugs and precious metals too...

-Livemint.com Aadhaar’s designers promised a robust PRIvacy legislation, but the current government’s stance is that Indians have no fundamental right to PRIvacy To govern India is to be constantly overwhelmed. So much needs to be done, and there’s so little to do it with. It’s hardly surPRIsing that the Indian state is rarely ambitious. It seeks to manage, not to transform. One recent government initiative, less than a decade old, is by contrast...

-India Today Commonly grown in Assam, the Black Rice (Kala chavul) is an exotic variety with amazing nutritional parameters like anti-oxidant, minerals, carbohydrates and fibre but the growers lacked the market. Chandigarh: The northeastern states like Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Sikkim are a veritable goldmine of organic foodgrains, herbs, spices and fruits. Despite the uniqueness and amazing health benefits, these foodgrains and herbs remain confined to these states as...