-The Hindu Business Line Crop insurance will make farming a safer vocation The plight of Punjab’s cotton farmers after a swarm of ‘whiteflies’ ravaged their crop is truly disquieting. In a knee-jerk response, Punjab has promised ₹640 crore for over two-third of the crop being destroyed, but on what basis, it is hard to tell. This highlights the absence of crop insurance in Punjab, as pointed out by a recent Crisil study....

-The Hindu In returning their awards, Nayantara Sahgal and Ashok Vajpeyi have reminded Modi of two duties he has neglected — that of upholding a citizen's right to life and of protecting an artist’s right to creativity. Their angst is also directed at the silence of fellow writers and literary institutions.A writer not only seeks to reform a particular injustice in society. She is a tuning fork, a warning signal about...

-Livemint.com They believe their efforts are more about social justice than philanthropy, but these young lawyer collectives are giving back to society by choosing to represent those with little or no legal recourse When Isha Khandelwal, 25, filed a discharge application for her client before the Juvenile Justice Board in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district, she told the court staff that there were a few corrections in the previously submitted plea. A member...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: In a big setback to the Centre, the Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to give a ruling on the Narendra Modi government's high-pitched and public interest-laced plea to allow citizens to voluntarily use Aadhaar cards to avail benefits under all social welfare schemes. This means, the apex court's August 11 interim order limiting the use of Aadhaar cards to access subsidy on LPG cylinders and ration...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Centre on Tuesday came to the Supreme Court along with several important organizations and made an impassioned plea for permitting voluntary use of Aadhaar cards held by 90 crore citizens to accurately identify beneficiaries for welfare schemes. They wanted modification of the SC's August 11 interim order limiting the use of Aadhaar card only for LPG subsidy and ration through public distribution system. A bench...