-The Hindu Malnutrition-related deaths fall from 58 in 2013 to 14 last year, as per Health dept. figures Palakkad (Kerala): Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comparison of the tribal situation in Attappady with the human development indices of Somalia has brought back national attention to the tribal belt, official figures confirm that infant mortality and neonatal deaths are coming down in the region. Though half a dozen infant deaths have been reported...

-The Times of India It would be fair to the impoverished tribals of Attapadi if both chief minister Oommen Chandy and CM-in-waiting Pinarayi Vijayan get their acts right before politicizing the tribal issue and blaming Prime Minster Narendra Modi for 'insulting the people of Kerala.' A detailed study done by research scholars of Chittur College, Palakkad - analyzing the livelihood status of tribes in Attapadi block revealed that the Human Development...

-Livemint.com The latest round of NFHS-4 shows than even in wealthy states such as Tamil Nadu, about four out of every 10 married women experienced some form of spousal violence Mumbai: A week ago, Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi said that India cannot have a law to criminalise marital rape, citing various factors such as “level of education/illiteracy, poverty, myriad social customs and values, religious beliefs, mindset of...

-Livemint.com The government relies on for-profit big business to deliver public goods despite their inability to deliver Can we listen to the budget as an annual public statement by the government of its economic and social philosophy and intent? The centre abandoned five-year plans that earlier laid down a road map of where government policies are headed. The budget, then, is an important reality check of whether the government is literally...

-The Hindu The question whether marital rape should be treated as a criminal offence has once again arisen after Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi repeated the government’s stand in a written reply in Parliament. She said, “The concept of marital rape as understood internationally cannot be suitably applied in the Indian context due to various factors like level of education/illiteracy, poverty, myriad social customs and values, religious...