-Vikalp The recently concluded Bali Ministerial marks an important milestone in the WTO negotiations. The National Food Security Act, 2013 in India has brought the issue of food security and hunger within developing countries to the forefront of the negotiations in the WTO. In this context, the G-33 proposal addressing the issue of non-recognition of food security concerns of developing countries within the global trade rules reflected a meaningful unity within...

-BBC A survey done earlier this year shows that public facilities in the poorest regions of India have steadily expanded, improving the lives of people there, writes development economist Jean Dreze. Once upon a time, not so long ago, public facilities in the poorest districts of India were few and far between. Most people were left to their own devices and they lived in the shadow of hunger, insecurity and exploitation, with no...

-PTI NEW DELHI: NCW has recommended drafting of a special legislation against human trafficking which includes the UN definition of the crime, besides setting up of a central nodal authority to curb all such activities. Taking note of increasing cases of human trafficking in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, the National Commission of Women (NCW) has sent a list of recommendations to the ministries of Home Affairs and Labour to prevent...

-The Times of India LUCKNOW: As a team of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) visited the riot-hit Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts on Friday, the UP government went into an overdrive to enumerate the relief measures taken for the victims living in camps. UP chief secretary Jawed Usmani said after improvement in the law and order situation, only five relief camps were functioning with 4,783 people living in them. Of these, one camp...

-The Business Standard Lok Pal important measure, but more needed In what should be seen as a victory for deliberative democracy, the Lok Sabha passed the Lok Pal and Lok Ayuktas Bill, 2013, on Wednesday with near-unanimity among political parties. Only the Samajwadi Party and the Shiv Sena objected in the end, and they chose to walk out rather than vote against the Bill or disrupt the House. The Rajya Sabha had...