-The Indian Express At a time of extreme rural distress, the Centre is violating the basic provisions of the employment guarantee act We are currently in the midst of an unprecedented early drought that is already affecting at least 10 states. Even if the met department’s optimistic prediction of a better-than-normal monsoon comes to pass, it will be at least two months before there is much relief in most rural areas...

-The Hindu In a much-needed measure to keep the consumption of chewing tobacco under check, the Delhi government has extended by a year the ban on the sale, purchase and storage of all forms of chewable tobacco — scented, flavoured and mixed — sold in forms such as gutka, pan masala, khaini and zarda. The extension of the ban has come after the previous notification expired recently. In 2012, a few...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: A 1987 report of the law commission had drawn a blueprint of the manpower required in the judiciary. At that time, the strength of the judiciary was 7,675 judges, or 10.5 judges per million people. The judge-population ratio (sanctioned strength) has since increased to 17 judges per million but the vacancies have surpassed the 5,000 mark and so have the backlogs. The current sanctioned strength of...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: An NGO has questioned a move to have national security adviser Ajit Doval address a conclave of Supreme Court judges today without a counterbalancing presence of human rights activists to present an alternative view. In a letter to Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur, the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms has argued that the three-day judges' retreat in Bhopal that ends tomorrow should also invite rights activists...

-IndiaTimes.com Since 1995, nearly three lakh farmers have committed suicide owing to agrarian crisis in the country. In Maharashtra alone nearly 60,000 farmers have ended their lives in last two decades. Last year itself, the western states recorded 3,228 farmer suicides with maximum cases coming from drought hit Marathwada and Vidharbha region. According to the census, nearly 2,000 farmers across India are giving up agriculture daily and opting for other menial jobs...