-The Hindu Business Line SHGs pave the road to financial independence in UP villages Three years ago, Simrikha Devi’s eightyear-old son made an unusual request. He asked for hundred rupees to buy biscuits,knowing well that his mother, a daily wager, would have to scrounge for the money. Although she was taken aback, Simrikha gave him the money. Her curiosity grew further when he returned with a bag of biscuit packets and began hawking...

-PTI Mumbai: The Centre will make a slew of provisions for Divyang students in the upcoming education policy and has already asked schools to provide adequate facilities to them, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Saturday. “We will make a lot of provisions for Divyang students across the country in our upcoming new education policy. We have asked the management of schools to provide ramps in buildings, make available separate toilets for...

-Scroll.in But the district health administration refutes claims of a 'mystery virus'. The causes of death were different in each case, they say. Just 10 minutes of rain in Sarfabad village in Noida township caused floods in its bylanes. Children who decided that it was time to play wading in the blackish SEWAge water. The roads are lined with mounds of garbage. On Friday, civic authorities had removed silt from the gutters...

-Outlook A crusader for Dalit rights, Bezwada Wilson, on reclaiming for the Dalits a life of human dignity in a structurally apathetic society. On many occasions, the Ramon Magsaysay Award has been bestowed on individuals of various ilks and ideological persuasions. For the first time, perhaps, it speaks to an issue that touches the lives of millions of people because an award for Bezwada Wilson (50) is an international acknowledgement of the...

-The Indian Express Floods and water-logging show that urban planners have paid scant respect to hydrology Rains have been good this monsoon season so far. But instead of welcoming the bounty, urban India seems to be wallowing in misery. Guwahati is flooded. People in Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai and Hyderabad are beset with water-logged streets and traffic snarls. Even half an hour of rainfall is enough to make a lot of places go...