-The Hindu However, the country’s value increased 61 per cent from 1980 to 2012 India has been ranked 136 among 187 countries evaluated for human development index (HDI) — a measure for assessing progress in life expectancy, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living or gross national income per capita. The Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for 2013, released on Thursday, puts India’s HDI value for...

-The Hindu Amid criticism that his move to determine minimum qualifications for journalists is based on a misunderstanding of the nature of the profession, Press Council of India (PCI) chairperson, Markandey Katju, called for a ‘healthy debate’ on the issue and lashed out at ‘touchy journalists’. He has also expanded the mandate of the committee, meant to decide on educational standards for journalists, to suggest ways to regulate and supervise journalism...

-The Telegraph Sex offenders in prison often find themselves positioned on the lowest rungs of a hierarchy of inmates, which exposes them to particularly bad treatment from fellow prisoners, psychologists who have studied jail violence have said. They say the phenomenon is believed to be widespread and, in some countries, has prompted law-enforcement authorities to segregate sex offenders from other inmates in prisons where they are viewed as vulnerable to physical attacks. Delhi...

-The Indian Express In the first detailed manual for medical examination of rape victims, the Health Ministry has advised doctors not to use the word rape as it is "not a medical diagnosis but a legal definition". It has also asked them not to identify a victim as "habituated to sexual intercourse" as this amounts to unlawful interference in her privacy and therefore a violation of her human rights. "Rape is not...

-Pragoti The magnificent victory of the CPI(M)-led Left Front in Tripura - winning 50 out of the 60 seats – and the success of the LF candidate in the Nalhati by-election in West Bengal has been interpreted as a “re-emergence” of the Left parties by a senior CPI(M) leader. This does not seem to be a rigorous assessment. While the fifth consecutive win by the LF in Tripura is a matter of...