-The Hindu As I write this column, my gaze is on the post-Deepavali haze that has enveloped Delhi. As a third-generation asthmatic, with a fourth-generation asthmatic daughter, it is set me wondering whether returning to Delhi, the city of my birth, from the United States a decade ago was a mistake. This haze is smog (smoke + fog), a hazardous mix of noxious gases and very high levels of suspended respirable...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The government is set to amend the guidelines for a scholarship scheme for tribal research students, linking selections to how they score in the National Eligibility Test that aspiring college teachers need to clear. Sources in the tribal affairs ministry said the proposed guidelines - that might also cap the age of applicants at 33 - could be notified before this month ends. At present, tribal candidates, irrespective of...

-FirstPost.com The issue of triple talaq has once again ignited the age-old debate on the desirability of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in India. The Law Commission of India sought the views of people on the implementation of UCC. It put out a questionnaire on 7 October, which faced stiff opposition from the All India MusLIM Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and some legal experts as it was alleged that it focuses...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: A report by the United Nations Children's agency, Unicef, released on Monday has confirmed the worst fears of people living in polluted areas — that bad air is contributing to death of many children even before they celebrate their fifth birthday. Outdoor and indoor pollution, the agency noted, are directly linked to respiratory diseases that account for almost one in 10 under-five deaths, making air pollution...

-The Indian Express Paddy growers in the poll-bound state suffer huge losses from unanticipated insect pest attack. Jalandhar: For Punjab’s farmers, fortune always seems to smile on the other side. Last year, it was the whitefly sucking pest that ravaged their cotton crop. This time round, it’s the brown plant hopper (BPH) that has caused significant yield and price realisation losses for paddy grown in large swathes of the state. And there...