In a few days from now, women could account for 52 per cent of all local bodies. They are tailors, farmers, accountants, legal clerks, homemakers, vendors and activists. There are M.Com degree holders alongside poor women from deprived backgrounds. Together, they make up the most highly educated women candidates fighting local body elections anywhere in the country. There are nearly 40,000 of them contesting the polls across more than 1,200...

The World Health Organisation today challenged the findings of the study that has suggested that India witnesses far more malaria deaths than is documented by the government or estimated by the WHO. The study by Indian and Canadian researchers indicated that malaria kills about 205,000 people in India each year, a figure 200-fold higher than the health ministry’s count, and 18 times the WHO estimate, as reported in The Telegraph today. A...

Raises support price by Rs 380/qtl; marginal rise for wheat. Pulses saw the highest rise of Rs 340- 380 per quintal in minimum support price (MSP), the government announcing these for the current rabi season. The decision is in line with government efforts to increase their sowing, to meet the increasing demand for the crop. The MSPs of masur and chana were increased by Rs 380 per qtl and Rs 340 per...

The UID project has both ‘security' and ‘developmental' dimensions. The former leads to an invasive state; the latter leaves us with a retreating state. Is identity the “missing link” in India's efforts to rise as an “inclusive” economic superpower? Can an identity-linked and technology-based solution change the face of governance in India? Given the euphoria around the Unique Identification (UID) project, one is tempted to believe so. However, a careful look...

Except for the Left parties, none of the major political parties have given importance to land reforms and problems of landless people during the elections. The Janata Dal(U) and the RJD-LJP are silent on land reforms. In their manifestoes in the previous elections, they had devoted some space to declare their dedication to the problem of land reforms. According to the official sources, the last action of distribution of surplus land was...