In a move that could benefit more than 62 lakh school teachers in government, municipal and private unaided schools, the Centre plans to provide them with life insurance and health insurance at highly subsidized rates. The HRD ministry has already held detailed discussions with LIC, with the public sector insurance giant coming up with an "indicative scheme" with two components. The first component on life insurance would be available for...

In the absence of whole-hearted steps to implement the provisions effectively, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 is falling short of expectations.  The Delhi High Court ruled recently that a woman can also be held liable under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005. This the court did on the basis of the interpretation that ‘relatives' included not only male but also female members of...

In a bid to promote menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls, the Government has approved Rs 150 Crore scheme to increase access to and use of high quality sanitary napkins to adolescent girls in rural areas. The scheme envisages supplying a pack of six sanitary napkins to Below Poverty Line (BPL) girls at a nominal cost of Re. 1 per pack. All girls in the Above Poverty Line (APL) category will...

A UNESCO dossier examines the problems faced by the original tribal inhabitants of the Andaman islands. SINCE the 1780s, a variety of players have vied for space in the Andaman archipelago. Today, apart from the three wings of the country's armed forces, others including rice farmers, timber merchants and academics are trying to push out its original inhabitants from their traditional habitats. For the first time in the past 150 years,...

In a big boost to Public Health System, the government approved hiring of more than 53500 male health workers for all the Sub Health Centers (SHC) in 235 high focus districts from the point of view of disease control. The total costs for providing the male health workers on contract at the 53,544 SHCs in the 235 high focus districts would be Rs. 385.52 crores per year and the central...