-Livemint.com In the debate about Muslims and the uniform civil code, the idea of female choice is not considered, says Aakar Patel The upper-caste Gujarati version of bigamy is called maitri karar, meaning friendship document. Saying that people in Ahmedabad were “opting for it”, a 2013 report in India Today described it thus: “The document is in fact little more than a promise of friendship and companionship between a man and...

-Livemint.com The govt did increase compensation for crop damage to 50% and even relaxed norms for claims but farmers will get less than a fifth of what they have lost to drought New Delhi: In April, Narendra Modi announced an increase in compensation for crop damage, a move the prime minister termed as a landmark decision and one that will impose a great burden on his government. His announcement followed unseasonal...

-PTI The Agriculture Ministry has moved a proposal to create a buffer stock of 3.5 lakh tonnes of lentils during the current 2015-16 crop year through domestic purchase or imports to prevent a further price rise in pulses. “The Agriculture Ministry has sought inter-ministerial comments on a proposal to create a buffer stock of 3.5 lakh tonnes of pulses in 2015-16 crop year,” sources said. Out of the proposed 3.5 lakh tonnes, about...

-DNA If we observe closely, the women entrepreneurs who run a variety of local small businesses are drivers of the local economy in many ways. Never ending stretches of backwaters and lush green coconut groves welcome you as you drive through the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the only state in India where the sex ratio is of 1084 females per 1000 males. At 92%, Kerala has one of...

-The Hindu The Central Information Commission has admitted fewer and fewer cases every month this year, under the Right to Information Act, data show, and RTI activists have asked for greater transparency in the process of turning down requests. Cases come before the CIC in two ways: if an applicant is not satisfied with the response to his or her request for information from a Central government authority, and with the verdict...