-PTI The appeal filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay has challenged the September 3 high court order, which said it was for Parliament and the state legislatures to enact laws and not for the court. New Delhi: A plea challenging a Delhi High Court order dismissing a PIL seeking implementation of certain steps, including the two-child norm, to control the country’s rising population has been...

-Financial Express If panchayat allocations are merged with MGNREGA to aid asset creation, it can trigger infrastructure growth, resulting in extra income and improved conditions. There is a lot of debate around 5% GDP growth and its impact on the organised sector. Although the government has been taking multiple steps to trigger the economy, there is a need to focus on rural India, in terms of optimising of fund allocations and revision...

-The Indian Express Urban areas require a different approach to end open defecation. The Swachh Bharat Mission is being executed by two different ministries — the Ministry of Drinking water and Sanitation for rural areas and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for urban areas. In the rural areas, the major challenge was to change the mindset of the populace so that they would start using household toilets rather than...

-Down to Earth Despite the increasing burden respiratory infections and water borne disease, the budgetary allowance for health has steadily dipped in the last few years, according to the National Health Report A degraded environment filled with air and water pollution continues to affect health of people in India, according to the National Health Report (NHP) released on October 31, 2019. Air pollution-linked acute respiratory infections contributed 68.47 per cent to the morbidity...

-Down to Earth blog Overburdened drainage, frenzied and unregulated construction, no regard to the natural topography and hydro-geomorphology all make urban floods a man-made disaster The recent floods in Bihar and Eastern Uttar Pradesh have taken by surprise both governments and people. In Patna, severe water logging has brought the city to a halt, with hospitals and residential areas filled with waist-deep water. Transport services have been disrupted, with many trains cancelled. There is...