-The Hindu Although the SECC’s objectives are not likely to be met, it is a big step towards providing accurate information on the well-being of the people. The release of data for rural households from the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) is only the latest step in India’s tortured history of trying to count its poor. The idea behind the SECC was technocratic. Commissioned by the United Progressive Alliance in 2011,...

THE controversy over Maggi instant noodles has once again highlighted the issues plaguing food Safety in India. Not only does the issue raise critical questions about safe food production by multinational companies such as Nestle but it also foregrounds the institutional fault lines when it comes to ensuring food Safety. Frontline spoke to Sunita Narain, who heads the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), the organisation instrumental in initiating...

-PTI New Delhi: Auditor CAG has pointed out discrepancies in the implementation of social welfare schemes including mid-day meal (MDM) and pulled up the Delhi government for its failure to obtain fund utilisation certificates from various institutions.   The auditor also criticised the performance of the Delhi tourism and transport development corporation, saying that it has failed to formulate a perspective plan for tourism promotion in the city despite 39 years of its...

-The Times of India A staggering range of commonly used chemicals - from insecticides to plastic additives to some common medications - are likely to cause cancer even in very low amounts. This was the conclusion reached by a massive study involving 174 scientists from 28 countries -- including India -- who researched the chemical actions of these chemicals. The study says that it is possible the combined effect of many...

-The Hindu The Executive Director of Greenpeace India, Samit Aich, resigned on Wednesday following an internal review of the organisation’s handling of two sexual harassment cases. A note put on the organisation’s website says that along with Mr. Aich, Programme Director Divya Raghunandan has also resigned. The Greenpeace India Board has also decided to commission a full, independent audit of how the NGO dealt with sexual harassment cases to strengthen internal processes...