Kerala, Punjab, Tamil Nadu high on HDI: study In a study done by Abusaleh Shariff, chief economist at the National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER), Gujarat surprisingly emerges as a State with high levels of hunger, while simultaneously boasting high per capita income and consistent income stability. The hunger levels in Gujarat are higher than in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, and surprisingly even higher than in Uttar Pradesh, according to...

Twice every year, between 1981 and 2000, a helicopter would whirr around the hills of the Western Ghats in Kasargod, a district in north Kerala bordering Karnataka, spraying endosulfan over the cashew plantations on the upper reaches. Children would rush out to take a look at the helicopter and the white spray would settle like mist on their heads and on leaves and shimmer in the sunlight. But that’s also...

The trial court judgment holding Binayak Sen guilty of sedition has led to widespread outrage. IN India's legal history, no trial court judgment in a criminal case has perhaps caused as much international outrage as the December 24, 2010, judgment of the Second Additional District and Sessions Judge of Raipur, B.P. Verma, did. In his 92-page judgment, Judge Verma convicted Dr Binayak Sen, the well-known human rights activist and medical...

A new politcal party has been floated by the Adivasi community in Assam with a sole agenda of demanding the scheduled tribe (ST) status for the Adivasis in Assam. Assembly elections in Assam are likely in to be held in the month of April-May along with Kerala, Puduchery, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. The new political party christened as Assam Mukti Morcha (AMM) is reportedly backed by the Jarkhand Mukti...

Union Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily on Saturday said the Centre was committed to implementing all recommendations of the Rajinder Sachar Committee on minorities' welfare. In a brief chat with journalists, on the sidelines of the 19th “International educational conference” of the American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin here, Mr. Moily said the Centre had already identified 90 districts with a large concentration of minorities where it would implement the...