-The Indian Express The recent proposal by the National Commission for Women to legalise prostitution has opened up an old debate. It is a misnomer that legalisation would lead to improving the lives of women in prostitution by way of reduced harassment by the police and provision of healthcare facilities. Advocates of legalisation should first examine the experience of countries where prostitution has been legalised. The mere fact that licensing has...

-IPS News SUNDARBANS: November is the cruelest month for landless families in the Indian Sundarbans, the largest single block of tidal mangrove forest in the world lying primarily in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal. There is little agricultural wage-work to be found, and the village moneylender's loan remains unpaid, its interest mounting. The paddy harvest is a month away, pushing rice prices to an annual high. For those like Namita Bera,...

-Down to Earth Chhattisgarh's much appreciated public distribution scheme is falling apart due to corruption and mismanagement As chhattisgarh prepares for panchayat election at the end of the year, the fate of ration card holders in the state is in limbo. During a verification drive in July-August, the state government found almost 1.3 million "unnecessary" ration cards in the possession of people. These cards have been taken back by the government and...

-Business Standard Restricts scope of life insurance cover to bring down burden on the exchequer The government has started applying exclusion principles to its inclusion scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). The life cover of Rs 30,000 announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for all those opening a bank account under the scheme will now exclude many. The finance ministry has put several riders for defining one's eligibility for a life...

-The Indian Express Oorugonda/ Warangal: Twenty -two kilometres from Warangal, a narrow road from National Highway 202 leads to Oorugonda, a village of around a thousand farmers in Atmakur mandal. An eerie silence hangs around it, with a few middle-aged men sitting under a tree looking up inquisitively at visitors. They are not done grieving for 40-year-old Modanti Krishnamma. Last week, she killed herself after the cotton crop she and her husband...