Punitive measures against girls forced into child marriages should not find a place in government policies, programmes and practices Child brides are not criminals. They cannot be compared to children accused of committing crimes. Anyone who hears a story of a girl forced into marriage before she turned 18 will tell you that she had little choice in the matter. In fact, under Indian law, children convicted as juveniles cannot be...

-The Times of India Marks obtained by a student in the Class X CBSE exams cannot be revealed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act as it would defeat the very purpose of the new grading system, the Delhi high court has ruled. Setting aside a ruling by the Central information Commission asking the Central Board of Secondary Education to reveal marks obtained by a girl in her Class X board examination...

The environment ministry is on an industrial overdrive, with rules being changed for faster clearance of projects at the cost of the environment. While the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife will lose its power to examine projects in tiger and elephant corridors, a sectoral forest advisory committee will be allowed to decide on diversion of forest land and projects even in dense forests. These are some of the...

-India Today A top agricultural research official's idea that India's age-old plant genetic resources can be made available to MNCs in return for better technology for farmers has invited criticism from non-governmental groups as well as individuals. Dr S. K. Datta, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) deputy director-general for crop science, claimed that many of India's plant germplasm or species were in the public domain and already being used by MNCs...

-PTI In a significant ruling, the Delhi High Court has held that marks obtained by a student in Central Board of Secondary Education Board exams cannot be revealed under the transparency law as it would “defeat” the purpose of the new grading system. The court set aside the verdict of a single-judge Bench and the Central Information Commission which had asked the CBSE to reveal marks obtained by a girl in her...