-Tehelka If a house can be insured against natural disaster, why can't a crop field? There is nothing more gruesome for any farmer than to see before his own eyes his lush green standing crop flattened by the vagaries of nature. All his hopes and aspirations from a bountiful harvest are grounded in a matter of few minutes. Not only the crop, but his life too is flattened. As many as 24...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha polls are not only under the watch of the Election Commission and financial agencies for corrupt practices, but also under the scanner of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). For the first time, the agency, under instructions from the home ministry, will collect data on poll-related offences such as liquor/money distribution, communal or hate speeches, false affidavits by politicians, poll violence, bogus voting and...

-The Indian Express The Sachar Committee report said financial resources and physical targets available to minorities, especially Muslims The Congress-led UPA created a multi-sectoral development programme for 90 Minority Concentrated Districts (MCD) in the country but a review panel scrutinising implementation of the Sachar Committee recommendations did not perceive any special concern for these districts. The panel said the government neither properly assessed development deficit in these districts, nor made adequate financial...

-The Hindu     While the stagnation in women's ability to control their own fate is disappointing, some of the other gender indicators are downright alarming On International Women's Day, the Election Commission of India held a special campaign to bring women voters to the polls. Although men and women vote at a more or less similar rate in State elections, women are 6-8 percentage points behind in the Lok Sabha elections where national...

-Live Mint India Philanthropy Report 2014 by Bain and Dasra says lack of funds will lead to more deaths of children Mumbai: India's child mortality rate may worsen despite the government's efforts to lower it because of a dearth of funding, according to the India Philanthropy Report 2014 by business consulting company Bain and Co. and Dasra, a philanthropic foundation, to be released on Friday. The lack of a comprehensive ecosystem of...