-The Hindu The rationale behind the Union government's decision to extend for four more years the Integrated Action Plan for naxal-affected districts in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, is clear enough. So is its timing, coming as it does days after the Maoist rampage in Chhattisgarh. Out of an annual allocation of Rs. 1,000 crore, each of the 82 districts identified...

-The Hindu   Channai: The population grew by 97.4 lakh persons, including 47.4 lakh males and over 50 lakh females, between 2001 and 2011. A rapidly urbanising Tamil Nadu faces significant social and economic challenges, going by indicators in the 2011 census abstract report released here on Friday. The ratio of rural to urban population has nearly reached parity and stands, in percentage terms, at 51.6 in villages and 48.4 in cities. Tamil Nadu's...

-The Hindustan Times Indore: At a time when crime against women is on the rise and patriarchal mindset spurs people towards honour killing, the opium-cultivating village of Guradia Narsinghpur in western Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur district has heralded a revolution of sorts. Located in a district notorious for girl child trafficking, Guradia Narsinghpur village under Gatod tehsil has adopted family planning vigorously. Most families do not have more than two children even if...

-The Hindu But, Aadhaar-LPG linkage is still tardy Tumkur: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will launch Aadhaar-linked Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) for LPG at the Birla Auditorium in Tumkur district on June 1, 2013. Addressing presspersons here on Thursday, district president of the Congress Shafi Ahmed said that Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister M. Veerappa Moily, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president G. Parameshwara, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Food and Civil Supplies Dinesh...

-The Hindu Kuala Lumpur: The horrific gang-rape of a young paramedical student in New Delhi on December 16, 2012 overshadowed India's achievements at the three-day Women Deliver conference that concluded here on Thursday. The episode figured in discussions held over three days even as the Indian delegates attempted to highlight the successes made in improving the reproductive and child health. On Wednesday morning, when philanthropist Melinda Gates acknowledged the achievements of the Bihar...