-The Times of India MUMBAI: A year ago, nothing could go wrong for 73-year-old Anna Hazare. The antigraft crusader's campaign attracted a groundswell from a disillusioned populace tired of corruption as a way of life. The movement succeeded in building Anna into a brand that millions of Indian consumers — most of them young and social media-savvy — bought into. A year down the line, that brand is frayed at the seams. The...

-IANS The newspaper advertisements of Madhur Bhandarkar's upcoming movie "Heroine", that features lead actress Kareena Kapoor with a cigarette on movie sets, have drawn flak for blatant violation of anti-tobacco laws. In a letter written to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, NGO Health Related Information Dissemination Amongst youth (HRIDAY) points out violation of law, regulating display of tobacco use in films. "Leading national dailies (on May 23) and online versions of several...

-Deccan Herald Despite many laws, untouchability remains a part of rural India “We were warned against going to the temple; they threatened us with dire consequences if we dare to lodge a complaint with the police,”   said Badlu Lal, a resident of Sahasa village in the Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh. The warning came not because Lal and his fellowmen did something wrong; their only fault was that, they belong to...

-The Economic Times The positive impact on agricultural wages and distress migration from rural areas not withstanding, the government's flagship rural employment scheme, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, leaves a lot to be desired for. This is evident from the rural development ministry's compendium of more than 100 major research papers on the programme, MGNREGA Sameeksha. The slim 120-odd page volume, which is to be released by the Prime Minister...

-The Hindu Offers of help poured in following a report in The Hindu A Narikurava youth of Vallimalai village near Uthangarai in Krishnagiri district has got an MBBS seat in the Government Medical College, Thanjavur, through counselling held in Chennai on July 9. M. Rajapandi secured 1,167 marks out of 1,200 in the Plus-Two examination, and his score in the relevant subjects during counselling was 197.75. He was ranked 1014 under general category. Under the...