A balance sheet of the Fourth U.N. Conference on Least Developed Countries held in Istanbul. Since the international community recognised the special category of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in 1971 and started extending special benefits to them, their number has increased from 25 in 1971 to 48 in 2011. In 40 years, only Botswana, Cape Verde and Maldives have moved up. Meanwhile, 26 countries were added. Clearly, the development strategy for...
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NHRC issues notice to Rajasthan officials over rape by policemen by J Balaji
The National Human Rights Commission has taken a serious view of reports that two constables – Pawan Kumar and Tej Singh – of Chhoti Sadri police station in Pratapgarh district of Rajasthan raped a woman on May 15 in their police quarters. It has sought a report in this regard from the State Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police within four weeks. The Commission, which took suo motu cognisance...
More »Sonia rushes to salvage MGNREGS by Anirban Bhaumik
Weighed down by an unending season of corruption, the political leadership of ruling the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) has stepped in to rescue the regime’s flagship rural employment guarantee scheme from discredit due to mounting allegations of endemic irregularities. The National Advisory Council of the UPA, headed by Sonia Gandhi, on Wednesday asked the Manmohan Singh government to expedite notification of the much-awaited rules that would allow public scrutiny of the...
More »Child labourers' plight: Underpaid and overworked by Puja Marwaha
For most people in cities, Labour Day (or May Day, which was on May 1) was just another public holiday that nobody thought too much about. On a day marked to give voice to the rights of the Indian work force, perhaps one ought to consider those who have been forced to join their ranks too soon - child labourers. According to government estimates, an astounding 42.02% of the Indian workforce...
More »Bonded labourers get land title after 70 yrs by Ashish Tripathi
Octogenarian Sita Devi was in tears when district magistrate of Gonda, Ram Bahadur, handed her the land ownership title. She was five-year-old when her family was forced into bonded labour by British forest officers posted in Gorakhpur. The family was given a piece of land for planting trees and to grow crop for its survival. They family was shifted to other place after five years for the same job. From...
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