-The Hindu In an agreement with Jan Satyagraha, Centre promises to initiate land reforms Thousands of landless poor aborted their march to Delhi on Thursday, accepting the government's promises to initiate land reform and the possibility of statutory backing for the right to shelter, homestead and agricultural land. Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh signed a 10-point agreement in Agra — barely 10 days after refusing to sign a similar deal at the march’s...

-The HIndustan Times There is concern again about missing persons and bodies found in canals in Haryana. Surfacing of such bodies in Punjab’s canals has figured in media reports for years. But neither Punjab nor Haryana police take interest in retrieving the bodies, as the recovery involves reporting it, then attempting to identify it and locating the kin, cremation and maintenance of a record. Pushing bodies downstream eliminates all this bother. But...

-The Hindu Second offence may attract imprisonment up to seven years The Union Cabinet on Thursday cleared a proposal to broaden the scope of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986, and make the punishment harsher. The penalty may be enhanced to a maximum of three years of imprisonment and a fine between Rs. 50, 000 and Rs. 1 lakh for the first conviction. An offender convicted for the second time can be...

-The Hindu Intelligent management of ecosystems can help to turn local economies around and give destitute households a chance to increase their incomes Protecting biodiversity is humanity’s insurance policy against the unprecedented biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation which has occurred in recent decades, undermining the very foundations of life on earth. This is why this week’s 11th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Hyderabad, which India is hosting, is...

-The Hindu Irula woman from Pulicat hamlet of Kulathumedu is part of exchange programme From a small hamlet near Pulicat to South Korea, it is indeed a grand journey for K. Padmavathy. A member of the Irula tribe in Kulathumedu, she will fly to Korea, in a fortnight, as part of an exchange programme in crab fattening, a process she and women belonging to Irular Self Help Groups (SHGs) excel in. On Wednesday, Padmavathy,...