-Press Information Bureau Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson, United Progressive Alliance, inaugurated "SAMARTH 2014: Celebrating Diversity" organized by the Department of Disability Affairs, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment here today. Speaking at the inaugural function Smt. Gandhi said that this event will help in creating awareness about the abilities of persons with disabilities and will go a long way in engendering an inclusive & enabling environment for them. Smt. Gandhi said there is...

-The Hindu Business Line Clientelism - tying benefits to political choices - cannot work because voting preferences cannot be ascertained. Do parties and their local agents link access to government services and benefits from government welfare schemes to how voters vote, or are expected to vote? This political strategy, which social scientists refer to as clientelism, depends on a massive investment in local leaders who collect information on voters' party preferences, vote choices...

-New Indian Express Kochi: You can hardly find an unused paddy field at Koodatham Poyil, a small village in Kayanna grama panchayat near Perambra, thanks to Samrudhi, a society of 21 members in the region which is on a mission to turn the village green by bringing the old glory of paddy cultivation back. Samrudhi was formed two years ago when the Krishi Bhavan encouraged farmers to get united to save...

-The Pioneer Bhubaneswar: Despite numerous policies and amendment in Hindu Succession Act, 2005 that provides inheritance rights to the Indian women on their parental agricultural land, the law has remained a non-starter with just 10 per cent of women having been able to own land in the country. Aimed at elevating the land rights issue of rural women, Landesa in partnership with Oxfam India organised a State level media workshop titled, ‘A...

-Frontline A report by ActionAid and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences highlights the vulnerability and tragic living conditions of thousands of children who take shelter in Mumbai's streets. IN 1988, the acclaimed film-maker Mira Nair made Salaam Bombay!, a poignantly revealing film on street children in Mumbai. The plot revolves around the protagonist, Krishna or "Chaipau", who is kicked out of his home by his mother for having damaged his...