-Down to Earth Activists demand its early passage to check discrimination against affected people in education, healthcare, employment, travel and insurance A much-awaited Bill, meant to protect people living with HIV/AIDS from all types of discrimination, was introduced in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. The Bill, drafted in 2006, was introduced by Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and Control) Bill or the HIV/AIDS Bill,...

-The Hindu Three months after the Ministry of Rural Development launched ‘Kaam Maango Abhiyan', aimed at capturing demand effectively for its flagship scheme Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the impact is beginning to become clear in several select districts of the country. The focus has been in six districts - Sitapur (Uttar Pradesh), Nashik (Maharashtra), Raichur (Karnataka), Katihar (Bihar), West Singhbum (Jharkhand) and Sundergarh (Odisha). The campaign covered...

-The Hindu The report of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)-appointed Committee on Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Business and Low Income Households has been placed on the central bank's website for comments. Considering the voluminous nature of the report and even more pertinently its complex and, detailed treatment of the subject, the deadline for receiving comments, now set at January 24, would, in all probability, need to be extended. The report packs...

-The Hindu The report of an RBI-appointed committee on financial inclusion and financial deepening has stimulated a wide-ranging debate on these crucial areas. However, policy measures initiated by the government and the RBI while adding to the numbers of new bank branches, new accounts and so on did not really enhance the quality of such inclusive practices. In September last year, the RBI asked the committee chaired by nachiket Mor...

-Press Information Bureau Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson, United Progressive Alliance, inaugurated "SAMARTH 2014: Celebrating Diversity" organized by the Department of Disability Affairs, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment here today. Speaking at the inaugural function Smt. Gandhi said that this event will help in creating awareness about the abilities of persons with disabilities and will go a long way in engendering an inclusive & enabling environment for them. Smt. Gandhi said there is...