-The Hindu   Human rights activist Binayak Sen said here on Monday that there was no question of his being a Naxal sympathiser. “Neither am I a Naxal sympathiser nor [an] opposer of Naxals,” Dr. Sen told journalists at the Press Club. “I believe that violence, either of the state or the non-state actors, does not cure any problem,” he said. Launching a scathing attack on Salwa Judum, he said that it...

Cash transfers are now suggested by many as a silver bullet for addressing the problems that plague India’s anti-poverty programmes. This article argues instead for evidence-based policy and informed public debate to clarify the place, prospects and problems of cash transfers in India. By drawing on key empirical findings from academic and grey literature across the world an attempt is made to draw attention to three aspects of cash transfers...

-The Hindu   Medha Patkar ends fast on day 9 Medha Patkar, leader of the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), ended her nine-day fast at Mumbai's Golibar colony on Saturday after the government handed her two resolutions incorporating the demands of the agitators. “It is a victory for the lakhs of people fighting for their right to live in the financial capital of India with dignity,” Ms. Patkar said. “The real fight...

-DNA   State government agreed upon most of the demands put up by social activist Medha Patkar, who is on Hunger strike forlast seven days. The government has agreed to stay the demolition of the house in the Ganeshkripa Society in Santa Cruz till June 15 , besides the agreement of setting up a committee to enquire into 15 other cases of the Slum Rehabilitation schemes with the irregularities. She also had demanded...

How much poor is poor enough? If you ask this question to the Planning Commission of India, you might be highly disappointed at the response. Many of India 's poor die out of Hunger and because they don't have acceptable housing. Some of India 's poor even live in makeshift homes on train station platforms, an example of the 78 million Indians who lack proper housing facilities. Still, according to...