-The Hindu     The critical issue in India, where the pentavalent vaccine is being rolled out, is raising the coverage levels of immunisation "Immunisation is not an election issue. It should be." Seth Berkley, CEO, GAVI Alliance, is not known for mincing his words. Throw in the immense experience he brings in from the area of vaccination, and he is easily the most articulate global proponent of immunisation. In India recently to meet...

-The Times of India CHENNAI: The UPA government is likely to introduce the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill in the Parliament during the second leg of the winter session which began on Wednesday. The bill has driven a wedge between disabled rights activists who have widely divergent opinions on the bill, which many see as a watered down version of the document made available by the government on the website of...

-Kafila.org The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill was meant to be an enactment to codify India's obligations under the UNCRPD, which it ratified without reservations. There was a Committee set up in 2009 by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, headed by Smt. Sudha Kaul, to draft a Bill to this effect. Like the UNCRPD says, the Committee included different people with disabilities - across disabilities - to draft...

-The Hindu The disability sector is torn between rejecting the Bill outright and assembling a few non-negotiables to have the Bill passed by the Lok Sabha After inter-governmental consultation and scrutiny by the Ministry of Law, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2013 stands approved by the Union Cabinet. What has the Cabinet approved? Is it the same legislation formulated by a joint committee of civil society, States and Union Ministries...

-The Hindu     The 13.1 per cent rate of unemployment in the 15-24 years age-group globally is more than twice that among the adult population. With one million more young people joining the ranks of the jobless in 2013, the world's youth are facing a disproportionate burden, says the latest report of the International Labour Organisation. The Global Employment Trends report 2014 also records slow progress of late in reducing levels of vulnerable...