-The Indian Express Recent announcements on possible changes to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and restrictions on its coverage are baffling and worrisome. The passing of the MGNREGA and the Right to Information Act heralded a new vision of citizenship and state responsibility. The former created a safety net for the rural poor. The latter gave taxpayers and voters an opportunity to bridge the gap between state...

-Livemint India decides to frame policy that will incentivize local manufacturing of raw materials, bulk drugs New Delhi: Six years back when China shut factories making drug ingredients to reduce pollution levels before Beijing Olympics, Indian bulk drug makers which depend on them suffered. Now, India has decided to frame a policy which will incentivize local manufacturing of raw materials and bulk drugs, and discourage Indian pharmaceutical firms from importing them. Please click...

-The Hindu Bihar, Haryana and Rajasthan have the highest proportion When the results to the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections came out two weeks ago, the northern State had produced twice the proportion of women legislators as its western counterpart. This isn't an exception; States with poor records on gender equality are consistently producing more female MLAs. Using Election Commission of India data, The Hindu found that as of today, Bihar, Haryana and Rajasthan...

-The Business Standard Most key functions now handled by the finance ministry and other govt departments When Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently extended a Rs 8,000-crore central support for building roads in Jammu & Kashmir, Union Cabinet's approval for the big-ticket announcement came in barely 48 hours. Unlike in the past, the proposal did not get stuck in the corridors of the Planning Commission, a Nehruvian-era body. The Commission, which occupied the centre...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Women seem to be most unsafe in their homes while the conviction rate in crimes against women remains very low, a government study has found. Cruelty by husband and relatives continue to have the highest share (38%) of crimes against women, followed by 'assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty' (23%), kidnapping and abduction (17%) and rape (11%). In a chapter on social obstacles in...