-The Telegraph New Delhi: Narendra Modi's India has caught up with Donald Trump's United States at least on one count: both have fallen by two notches on the World Press Freedom Index. Worse for India, it has found mention in a general analysis by the Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) where a direct allegation is being levelled about "troll armies in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pay". India, the chapter on which...

-Down to Earth Waste pickers recycle almost 20 per cent of India's wastes. Yet they are unrecognised, face discrimination and are not entitled to government schemes India produces about 5.31 million tonnes of waste each year and is facing an unprecedented solid waste management crisis. Coupled with an upward trend in industrialisation, rural migration, spending and an increasing propensity for capitalist consumption, the amount of waste generated in India will continue...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has recently directed the Centre to take a decision on banning 18 pesticides within the next two months. Most of these have been banned in other parts of the world because of their health and ecological impacts. SC has also said that if a decision is taken to ban a particular pesticide, then the ban be implemented within 15 days. Farmers groups, public...

-The Indian Express Death penalty for sexual offences against children is misconceived. Ordinance is doomed to fail Reactionary law reform has always been an easy way for governments to appear tough on crime, and the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018 is no different. It betrays a lack of thought on the likely impact, and only serves to endanger the lives of future victims. The five state reports of the Centre for Child and...

-The Indian Express Curbing stubble burning is about inducing behavioural changes in farmers. Given that crop residue burning has an environmental footprint and poses health hazards, one needs to be cautious while evaluating the Centre’s policy to mitigate the crisis. But there is also an urgent need for such an evaluation. The Centre has allocated Rs 1,050 crore to the states where crop residue burning poses a pollution hazard. The Union Ministry...