-The Hindu 12,681 displaced persons yet to return to their villages in Muzaffarnagar Shamli (Uttar Pradesh): Mohammed Shamim's face reflects that of a worried father. A few feet away from the stone slab he is seated upon, his sons are working hard to construct a two-room house for the nine-member family, which was displaced from their village Lisaad during the riots last year. Thirteen persons were killed in Lisaad. After vacating the...

-The Hindustan Times A sea of young people on a Delhi Metro last week offered a glimpse into the despair within young India. Most had taken the train from Delhi University — a hub of students from across the country — to the heart of the city, to take a test and apply for a job with a national bank. But there were only a few thousand vacancies — and 100,000 youngsters...

The more things change, the more they remain the same. Probably, this can be said about the ‘Sample Registration System Statistical Report 2012', which carries the latest figures on the social sector by far. The report has provided some interesting trends in child mortality indicators for India and its bigger states during 2012 (see the links below). It says that states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, which have consistently...

-The Telegraph India will celebrate three years without a single case of polio caused by the wild poliovirus on Tuesday, but public health experts have said the "endgame" to eradicate polio from the country will begin only next year and might last until 2018. The Union health ministry has planned a celebratory event at a stadium here, inviting India's political leaders, World Health Organisation (WHO) officials, international agencies, and over 1000...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: A disability rights bill the government tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Friday has not only angered activists by ignoring many of their recommendations but also split them. Javed Abidi is leading one side that is holding protests across Delhi demanding passage of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill 2014, arguing that something is better than nothing. "If we oppose this bill, it will be delayed for two...