-Hard News While Narendra Modi's apologists will selectively quote from the latest CAG audit report on state finances that revenue earning has registered an upswing, they will compulsively forget that "the fiscal deficit of Rs 11,027 crore in 2011-12 was met out from a net borrowing of Rs 15,083 crore". The CAG has remarked that "an increase of 41 per cent in the market borrowing in 2011-12 over previous year for...

-Live Mint The experience of Kerala and Tripura shows how panchayati raj can help in the empowerment of women Chulubari (Tripura)/Kanjikuzhy (Kerala): Her relatives warned Hena Das, a resident of Chulubari in Tripura, against taking up political office because it wasn't "meant for women". Das disregarded the warnings. Two years on, she has no regrets. She also has no male colleagues; her fellow representatives on the board of an 12-member panchayat are all...

-The Hindu     When displaced by development projects, many migrate to cities as servants, some are lured into prostitution Palakkad: A study conducted by Centre for Development Studies (CDS) on impact of development on tribal people has found that tribal women are the worst sufferers in this process of change. The study, titled ‘Withering Valli: Alienation, degradation and enslavement of tribal women in Attappady' and undertaken along with the Kerala Research Programme on Local...

-Down to Earth Inadequate sewage treatment and disposal in the national capital territory is contaminating city's groundwater Delhi residents who depend on groundwater for their drinking water needs be warned. The latest data of the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) shows that groundwater samples taken from observation wells in the national capital are getting contaminated because of their unhygienic catchments and untreated sewage, which is discharged in the open and into drains,...

-The Times of India The broad consensus finally reached by major political parties on the land acquisition Bill is a major breakthrough. The Bill, if passed, will bring transparency to the land acquisition process, help clear investor uncertainty and hopefully improve the supply of land for development. The break in the stalemate was made possible by a flexible approach of the government, which incorporated proposals of opposition parties. This is a...