There has been a phenomenal rise in the percentage of elderly who are abused by their own family members, and although most of the victims are aware of police helplines, they seldom adopt such solutions. What can be the explanation behind such social behaviour? Based on a survey conducted in 12 cities across 8 states with a sample size of 1,200 elders covering both metro (Tier I) and non- metro (Tier...

-The Hindu   Kanyashree Prakalpa provides scholarship to girls from economically-backward backgrounds Kolkata: Kanyashree Prakalpa, a West Bengal government scheme that provides scholarship to girls from economically-backward backgrounds, has been given international recognition by the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID) and UNICEF. State representatives have been invited to the Girl Summit 2014 in London, in June, and talk about the scheme to a global audience. The conditional cash transfer scheme to school...

Punjab, which was known to be the land of agricultural prosperity during the 1970s and 1980s thanks to the Green Revolution, has increasingly witnessed its small and marginal farmers being pushed out of the agricultural sector. Based on a survey (conducted in 2012-13) of 288 farmers from 12 villages—2 villages from each of the 6 districts that represent various agro-climatic zones—the study by Sukhpal Singh and Shruti Bhogal reveals that...

-The Business Standard   The new Act is an effort to address the historical injustice while speeding up procedures The Land Acquisition Act, 1894, is a colonial law enacted by the British government which survived and continued post-independence. This Act authorised the government to acquire the land from privately held person for public use, at a reasonable price. Even after independence, the Indian government continued with the 1894 Act. In many instances there have...

-Down to Earth   Most severely and consistently excluded groups are women, Adivasis, Muslims and the disabled, report confirms A recent report by a Delhi NGO undermines government claims on reaching welfare schemes to the needy and disadvantaged sections of society. The report, titled The India Exclusion Report 2013-14, says the government has failed miserably in providing equal access to public goods to the most disadvantaged groups. The report, prepared by Delhi-based Centre for...