-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The draft national policy on domestic workers, awaiting the Union Cabinet's nod, must be approved at the earliest. Activists and NGOs echoed this view at a panel discussion on Wednesday. "A national policy is the first step towards ensuring rights for domestic workers. It is also the first step before legislation is enacted. But despite our persistent efforts, progress is so slow," said Varghese Theckanath, convenor,...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The National Campaign for Peoples' Right to Information (NCPRI), Disabled Rights Group (DRG), National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI), and the National Coalition for Strengthening of Prevention of Atrocities Act (NCSPA), who have formed a coalition called the Lok Sansad, continued their agitation at Jantar Mantar to press for the passing of five pending "consensus bills" in Parliament. The coalition stated that now that...

-The Indian Express Starting today, The Indian Express tracks how MP Local Area Development funds have been spent in various districts, based on third-party audits. Last month, Rahul Gandhi said in Sevagram, Maharashtra, that half the country's MPs want their local area development (MPLAD) scheme to end. "If you ask MPs, at least 50 per cent of them will tell you put an end to this scheme because... the scheme does not...

-The Business Standard The economic logic - and political reasons - behind the giant shift of spending power to the states Interim Budgets are not supposed to do this. This is precisely what they are not supposed to do. They are not supposed to lay out a policy change so vast it disempowers the next central government. But that's what P Chidambaram has done - and it appears to have been...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The next government at the Centre will have far less money to play with, thanks to something Chidambaram has done. He has transferred substantial control over spending on centrally-sponsored schemes such as employment guarantee and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan to the states. In the coming year, the amount is Rs 3.4 lakh crore. State governments will be pleased. Political observers see it as a move to curry...