-Hindustan Times In all the heat being generated by the government’s amendments to the land acquisition law, the tribals are being left out in the cold. In his Mann Ki Baat broadcast Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed himself to “My dear farmer brothers and sisters”. He did not include the tribals. Perhaps farmers are in the spotlight because the tragedy of farmers’ suicides gives the opposition an emotive issue to raise in...

-The Times of India BAREILLY: A mere year after the country was declared polio free, more than 200 samples have tested positive to polio-like symptoms from tehsils here, sending alarm bells ringing in the health department. The samples, from Baheri, Meergunj, Faridpur and Nawabgunj among other tehsils, have been sent to the central laboratory in Mumbai for further testing. Officials have also been informed that the children, between the ages of 5...

-Hindustan Times The decision to protect the Mangar Bani forest in Faridabad and a 500-metre buffer as a no-construction zone is a remarkable one. This declaration by Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar recently has been widely welcomed, and could mark a turning point in the battle between the government and environmentalists campaigning to save the Haryana Aravallis, especially the Mangar Bani. The region is under threat from real estate developers and...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Union environment ministry has refused to release bio-safety research dossiers on genetically modified mustard developed by Delhi University under review for possible commercial cultivation, activists campaigning against GM crops claimed today. The activists said the ministry had turned down their request filed under the Right to Information Act for the bio-safety dossiers containing data on environmental and toxicity studies done on the GM mustard engineered with bacterial...

-Business Standard The ILO has invited various central trade unions to come to its office on Thursday to make a position paper incorporating their views The International Labour Organization (ILO) has flayed some of the recent labour reforms proposed by the Narendra Modi government, saying these would take away a chunk of workers from the protection of basic laws. As the trade unions' confrontation with the government is set to escalate, the ILO...