-Outlook Bhubaneshwar: Prone to natural calamities like cyclone, flood and tsunami, Odisha government plans to construct about 30,000 pucca houses along state's coastline, besides setting up 162 cyclone and flood shelters in the coastal region. "We have plans to spend Rs 3 lakh each for 30,000 pucca houses in the coastline. The houses will be located within five km from coastline," Revenue and Disaster management minister S N Patro said in the...

-Frontline In a situation of increasing life expectancy and crumbling traditional support structures, a universal social pension scheme that does not rely on contribution by a person or an employer can help the elderly. INDIA prides itself on being a "young" society, likely to benefit from a demographic dividend as children and young people move into working age groups over the next decade. This optimistic view assumes that society will be able...

-The Hindu Compensation sought for those who died of asphyxiation Chennai (Tamil Nadu): Hundreds of members of the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front (TNUEF) seeking abolition of manual scavenging were arrested when they picketed the arterial Anna Salai on Tuesday. Their demands included compensation for those died of asphyxiation in manholes, abolition of manual scavenging on the premises of railways and framing of rules under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and...

-Outlook Rights group People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) today asked West Bengal Human Rights Commission chairperson Justice (retd) A K Ganguly to step down from his post after being indicted by an apex court panel for "unwelcome behaviour" and "conduct of sexual nature" towards a law intern. It said WBHRC chairperson should "gracefully tender his resignation" from his post to uphold the dignity of the high office and also to uphold...

-The Hindustan Times One man's fixation with rules can be another man's lifeline. Many international trade negotiators argue in favour of shooting down subsidies because it ‘distorts' trade. But the simple fact is that in a more-than-a-billion strong nation, in which nearly one in every three lives at subsistence level, one needs an effective and efficient method through which privileged tax payers can support the poor. India has rejected a proposal at the...