-Live Mint Lack of decentralization means municipalities lack power, resources to meet rising aspirations of ‘middle' India Othakadai, Madurai (Tamil Nadu)/Hubli (Karnataka): S. Paramasivam , president of the Othakadai panchayat, has big plans for his area. "Rainwater harvesting, removal of encroachments on roads, waste recycling, covered drainage, bigger primary health care centres and community parks," lists the 58-year-old, who has spent 30 years in the stainless steel business that dominates industry...

-The Hindu To bridge the gap in development between the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and non-SCs and STs, a coalition of more than 150 organisations is demanding a national law to prevent, once and for all, the diversion, non-release, non-implementation and lapsing of the Special Component Plans for SCs/STs. In response to the coalition's longstanding demands, the National Advisory Council's guidance and the letter Sonia Gandhi wrote to the Prime Minister...

-The Hindu     Well-known feminist Kamla Bhasin says that Indian men will have to change, not to support women but to save themselves from being brutalised by centuries of exposure to patriarchy. "Mian, aap mein kuch kami hai" (Gentleman, there is something wrong with you)." Some months ago, when Kamla Bhasin, well-known feminist from Delhi, came up with this retort to Aamir Khan on his headline-grabbing tele-show Satyameva Jayate on saying that he...

-The Hindustan Times Real Heroes, a CNN-IBN initiative in partnership with Hindustan Times, celebrates the extraordinary service of India's ordinary citizens every year. This year, the awards will felicitate 13 women who fought hard and conquered all obstacles to make a difference. Today we share four such stories. * Bhanwari Devi It's a name that's synonymous with the women's movement in India. And yet justice continues to elude Bhanwari Devi. Brutally raped in 1992 for reporting...

-The Hindu The rape of a five-year-old in Delhi highlights the need for urgent and concerted action to ensure safety of girls and women in India, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has said. More should be done to urgently change the mindset towards women and check such brutal crimes, it said. In a statement issued here, UNICEF said recently published data shows that more than 30,000 crimes were committed against children...