The three members central team, constituted by ministry of forest and environment and ministry of Tribal affairs visited proposed POSCO site villages and held public consultation to enquire about the implementation of ‘ The Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers and Forest Rights Act-2006 and Rules 2007’ The central team led by Ashish Kothari, a member of a Pune based NGO Kalparvriksh, Dr Ravi Chellam from wild life conservation society...

Parents who practice the dictum, 'spare the rod and spoil the child', had better watch out. The government is planning a legislation that will make meting out corporal punishment to a child an offence not just for educational institutions and care givers, but also for parents, relatives, neighbours and friends. In other words, just like in the US, children in India will be able to take parents or relatives to...

An annual assessment report released today by the United Nations shows that while significant declines have been recorded by many countries in reducing maternal and child mortality, greater progress must be made to meet the global targets contained in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). First agreed at the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000, the eight MDGs set worldwide objectives for reducing extreme poverty and hunger, improving health and education,...

With global efforts to end child labour showing mixed results, United Nations agencies are urging greater action to achieve the goal of eliminating the scourge by 2016. The latest report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) says that if current trends continue, the 2016 target will not be reached and a renewed push to end child labour is urgently needed. As millions of people around the world focus their attention...

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for concerted efforts to end what he described as the “scandal” of women dying in childbirth, saying even simple clinical procedures such as clean delivery rooms and the presence of a trained midwife could greatly reduce pregnancy-related deaths. “Some simple blood tests, consultation with a doctor and qualified help at the birth itself can make a huge difference,” Mr. Ban said in an address to an...