-The Hindu     To be able to deliver appropriate legal services to the rural and tribal communities, we need an alternative delivery system with a different model of legal service providers Delivery of legal services to the rich and the corporate class is organised not through individual lawyers but through a series of networked law firms. These firms employ hundreds of lawyers and domain experts all over the country to provide highly specialised...

-Governance Now In spite of having Aadhaar as well as PAN card, many migrants in south Delhi's Sangam Vihar could not get a voter's card, and will not be able to vote Many residents of Sangam Vihar, a constituency in south Delhi with migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in majority, will not be able to exercise their franchise in the Delhi assembly elections. They do not have voter cards despite repeated...

-The Hindu Call to address women's issues by decision-making bodies at all levels Calling for addressing women's issues, needs and concerns by decision-making bodies at all levels of governance, women's groups on Thursday released a gender manifesto with a hope that political parties would consider it for the upcoming general elections. Demanding inclusion of development of legal frameworks that ensure gender equality within political parties, development and effective implementation of women-friendly legislation, implementation...

-The Business Standard The National Optic Fibre Network project aims to connect 2.5 lakh gram panchayats across the country with optical fibre The government is likely to miss the deadline for its dream project - National Optic Fibre Network (NOFN) to connect 2.5 lakh gram panchayats across the country with optical fibre for offering 100 megabit per second (mbps) broadband services. The much-talked-about NOFN project, which was initiated in 2011 with the approval...

-Economic and Political Weekly     The Twelfth Five-Year Plan aims to foster more inclusive and sustainable growth. Urban transport finds mention in its chapters on sustainable development, environment, and urban development, which focus not only on aspects of public transport, but also urban planning and governance. Identifying the three main themes that emerge from the Plan's recommendations, this paper takes a critical look at them. It comments on what appears to be...