Amounts to violation of right to life, survival and development' Taking suo motu cognizance of a large number of children dying due to Japanese Encephalitis in Uttar Pradesh, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has asked the State Government to submit an action taken report on these deaths within 15 days. The Commission has cited a news report wherein it has been mentioned that “the deadly encephalitis, a water...

While the state government’s attempt to illegally dam the Kalu river in rural Murbad, Thane, is being challenged in court, it now emerges that the government has made false claims in its affidavit — about the total number of villages that will be affected, the number of people who will be displaced, and the amount of land that will be submerged. To make it all worse, work on the dam...

India is finally ready with a comprehensive Bill that will protect children from sexual abuse. But the Bill, says author-activist Pinki Virani, has a major flaw regarding sexual consent that needs to be immediately addressed and the stakeholders consulted before it becomes law. With a certain Standing Committee so much in the news, let us look at what is happening with another Standing Committee looking into a Bill to protect children...

AIDWA wants Planning Commission proposal immediately withdrawn The Planning Commission's proposal for relaxing the ban on sex determination tests has evoked sharp reactions, both for and against. The proposal envisages relaxing the rules for sex determination in foetus but giving incentives to stakeholders and mothers, if it is a girl child, to ensure safe delivery. National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chairperson Shantha Sinha says the government should ensure the...

-PTI   Hundreds of mourners gathered on Saturday for the funeral of Kenyan environmentalist and Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai at a park in central Nairobi she fought to save from destruction. The staunch conservationist's body was driven to the park in a coffin made of hyacinth fibres and bamboo frames because she opposed being buried in a wooden casket requiring the chopping down of trees. Mourners also lined Nairobi streets to view the cortege...