The Telegraph Over 60 scientists have signed a statement accusing the Indian Council of Agriculture Research of trying to ‘silence the voices’ of public sector scientists Sections of scientists on Monday asked India’s apex agricultural research agency to revoke what they described as a “gag order” intended to prevent former government researchers from articulating concerns about genetically modified mustard. Over 60 scientists have signed a statement accusing the Indian Council of Agriculture...

- Scroll.in The right to work has been suspended in the state as a result of a political battle over upcoming elections. People working under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in West Bengal have not been paid their wages for more than a year now with the Union government stopping the payment of funds. Bengal is the only state impacted by this stoppage, Scroll.in reports. MGNREGA is a national...

- Scroll.in India prohibited manual scavenging in 1993. But it took another 20 years to expand its legal definition to include the manual cleaning of drains, sewers and septic tanks. Mumbai, with the richest municipal corporation in India, was among the worst offenders when it came to the implementation of the 2013 law. Records maintained by the Safai Karamchari Andolan, a national organisation working for the rights of sanitation workers, show 19...

-The Telegraph According to national family health survey, 67.5 per cent of children in state below the age of 5 years are anaemic while 39.4 per cent are underweight Ranchi: About 200 concerned citizens wrote an open letter to Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren on Saturday, urging him to provide eggs in midday meals for schoolchildren five days a week. “We are dismayed to note that the Jharkhand government’s long-standing promise to include...

-Hindustan Times The meeting came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed concern over the Joshimath land subsidence issue and reviewed the situation with Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has held a high-level review meeting on the land subsidence activities in Uttarakhand’s Joshimath and a team of central agencies and experts are assisting the state government to prepare short, medium and long-term remedial measures to deal with...