-The Telegraph   Rural job scheme activist Niyamat Ansari was beaten to death by Maoists as a group of middlemen stood and watched, a report on the March 2 killing has pointed out, indicating once again that implementation of MGNREGS in Jharkhand leaves a lot to be desired. Armed with the report, a committee constituted by Union rural development ministry today met chief minister Arjun Munda and his deputy Sudesh Mahto, requesting...

Apparel exporters risk losing clients like GAP, Reebok and Nike if India fails to convince the US on Friday that its industry does not employ children. India has been asked to defend itself in the US on May 20 against charges of Child Labour. Child Labour is a sensitive issue for American multinationals who source 30% of their global requirements from India. The brands can stop India sourcing if the country...

The passport office in Hyderabad reported the highest number of passport applications recorded in Indian history (at least 450,000) and it expects an increase of 15-20% this year Jamuna Kunta sits stiffly in a plush red chair at the Hyderabad press club, holding her head proudly erect as she quietly recounts the events leading to her husband’s suicide in Dubai. A farmer from Karimnagar, a rural district in Andhra Pradesh, her husband...

CHHATTISGARH, India, 6 May 2011 – When Pausha Madharia, 16, speaks, she gives voice to the hopes, dreams and fears of every child in the Indian State of Chhattisgarh. Standing before the State Assembly recently, she shared her concerns about Child Labour, discrimination faced by young girls and the troubles that some students encounter when they’re simply trying to attend school. Pausha told legislators that drunken men sprawled on the road...

Endosulfan, the pesticide which is widely believed to be responsible for thousands of deaths, diseases and devastation, was able to save its own life largely because of India’s questionable efforts at global forums. The controversial pesticide has been in news for a long time because of its harmful effects on humans, wild life and the environment. Obviously the $100 million industry is going out of the way to defend the...