-The Hindu They matter because they sustain social practices without which human life is neither worthwhile nor indeed possible There is much talk these days about the decline in our institutions. Aren’t they failing to perform, being systematically undermined, even destroyed? On the one hand, people are heard lamenting that our courts are compromised, that our Parliament is dysfunctional, or that our higher education is in a mess. On the other hand,...

-The Hindu Clause on listing ingredients dropped. A group of Indian pesticide manufacturers says that the proposed Pesticides Management Bill, which is likely to be finalised this month, will harm both farmers and the domestic industry by not making it mandatory for the active ingredients of pesticides to be revealed in the registration process. “The draft Bill will allow importers to register readymade products without registering the active ingredients,” said Pradip Dave, President...

-TheWire.in Former CEC S.Y. Quraishi, in whose term paper audits for EVM machines were tested and introduced, questions the failure of the system in the recent by-polls despite all-weather tests. New Delhi: The Election Commission on Friday declared that the reason behind the malfunctioning of a large number of voter verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines during the recently held by-elections to the Kairana and Bhandara-Gondiya parliamentary constituencies was due to the...

-The Hindu The court-ordered clean-up in the textile town has managed to mitigate ill-effects of industrial pollution to a large extent. A similar remediation effort, involving the government and stakeholders, is needed in other parts of Tamil Nadu, where groundwater has been so contaminated that farming is not possible anymore On a sunny June morning, two men are spotted fishing close to the Orathupalayam dam in Erode district. A rather ordinary act in...

-The Times of India CHANDIGARH: Jat community members in Haryana on Saturday threatened to oppose programmes attended by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his ministers for not implementing quota in government jobs and education and not withdrawing cases filed in connection with the 2016 quota stir. At a Jat Mahasabha organised in Jassia village in Rohtak district, the All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangarsh Samiti announced that it will hold dharnas from August...