Worst figure in six years Total number of farm suicides since 1997 is 2,16,500 The share of Big 5 States remains very high at 10,765 At least 17,368 Indian farmers killed themselves in 2009, the worst figure for farm suicides in six years, according to data of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). This is an increase of 1,172 over the 2008 count of 16,196. It brings the total farm suicides since 1997...

Today, the Indian media—both print and television—is focusing on the recent corruption scandals involving the UPA Government with unusual zeal. However, I fail to understand why almost every commentator, every TV anchor, every editorial writer feels compelled to pay ritual obeisance to the “personal honesty and integrity” of Dr Manmohan Singh while dealing with the scandals emanating from his cabinet colleagues. They do so even when there is clear evidence...

Chhattisgarh special prosecutor TC Pandya on Friday claimed that civil rights activist Dr Binayak Sen's wife Ilina was in correspondence with the ISI — a huge gaffe. For, the ISI she had links with was the Indian Social Institute, not the Pakistani intelligence agency. Pandya was deposing in a local sessions court and said that Sen had dealings not just with local Maoist networks but also international terrorist groups as well. He...

The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993 enacted by Parliament prohibits manual scavenging. As per the Act, no person shall (a) engage in or employ for or permit to be engaged in or employed for any other person for manually carrying human excreta; or (b) construct or maintain a dry latrine. Contravention of these provisions is a criminal offence. So far, the Act has...

Wider access to anti-retroviral therapy reduced AIDS casualties Children account for 3.5 % of all infections Even though the overall HIV infection prevalence rate has shown a 50 per cent decline during the past decade in India, among the States, Manipur continues to top the list with an adult prevalence of 1.40 per cent, followed by Andhra Pradesh (0.90 per cent), Mizoram (0.81 per cent) and Nagaland at (0.78 per cent). It...