-The Telegraph The state government is trying to work out a health insurance scheme to cover 10 lakh families living below the poverty line who do not benefit from the Centre’s Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY). At present about 25 lakh BPL families qualify for benefits under the central scheme while there are more than 35 lakh BPL families in the state according to a survey conducted a couple of years ago. The...

-The Hindu In a far-reaching decision, the Rajasthan government has announced that a person below 18 years will be considered as a child labourer if he or she is employed. Accepting the long-pending demand of child rights groups, the government announced a comprehensive standard operating procedure (SOP) for identification, rescue, protection and rehabilitation of children employed in various occupations. The decision has come as a major triumph for advocacy groups seeking the abolition...

-The Telegraph Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today expressed surprise over husbands of women mukhiyas and women sarpanchs running the rural parts of the state, unlike elsewhere in the country. Ramesh was on a visit to Rohtas district to review bariou development schemes undertaken in areas that have suffered because of ther Maoist violence. During his meeting, he could not find any woman mukhiya or woman sarpanch with whom he could interact...

-The Hindu A few thousand representatives of various people’s movements from across the country have gathered at Jantar Mantar in the national capital. They are Dalits, Adiviasis, sections of unprotected working class including farmers and fish-workers but they all form one ‘biradari’ of those who live off land, water, forest. They are the ones who produce, distribute, build, operate, clean, sell, drive and do all that enable society to survive, proceed...

-The Times of India CHANDRAGIRI (RAYAGADA): Tribals from Rayagada's Kashipur block have vowed to stopUtkal Alumina International Limited (UAIL) from mining at Baphlimali hills alleging that the company has backtracked on its promises. "The company promised to bring about all round development of the affected villages and started construction work six years ago. We believed it and stopped our agitation against the company. But there has been no noticeable change in the...