-The Hindu Every fourth girl married in rural Rajasthan and every fifth girl married in rural Bihar and Jharkhand is less than 18 years -- this despite several measures taken by the government to check child marriages in the country. Only 50 per cent deliveries are considered safe in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh and just about 45 per cent children are fully immunised in Uttar Pradesh. The percentage of men getting married...

-PTI Notwithstanding the tag of being a Naxal hotbed, tribals in this east Maharashtra district have shown the way to the rest by treating girls with love and dignity and not resorting to unethical practises like female foeticide. Even as the instances of female foeticide and conducting sex determination tests are rampant in some parts of the state, Gadchiroli is by and large an exception. As is evident in the 2011 Census figures,...

-The Times of India The Planning Commission has asked states to hike electricity charges to not only save the ailing power sector but also use the subsidy to fund essential services like drinking water, education and Health, which are essential for promoting inclusive growth. "The way the current situation (can) be handled is through some combination of tariff increase and serious efforts to reduce AT&C losses," Plan panel deputy chairman Montek Singh...

-The Times of India Groundwater, a precious natural resource, is for all practical purposes a private property in India. Anyone can bore and extract water from the land he owns with few rules to restrict over-exploitation. But all this could soon change. Plans are afoot to alter laws and regulations to make groundwater a common property resource to ensure better regulation by government as a public trustee with the involvement of communities...

-The Indian Express A public hearing for environmental clearance to the proposed Gorakhpur nuclear power plant in Fatehabad district of Haryana came to an abrupt end Tuesday when members of the Opposition INLD led by Abhay Singh Chautala stormed the venue to protest acquisition of land for the plant. Kuldeep Bishnoi-led members of the Haryana Janhit Congress also reached the venue in support of farmers and activists opposed to the project for...