-The Business Standard   Higher judiciary has not addressed the delays in India's courts Continuing what will be a year of quick personnel changes for the higher judiciary, a new chief justice of India, R M Lodha, has taken office. Justice Lodha will have only a five-month tenure. It will be difficult for him to introduce any far-reaching reform in this period. His initial speech after being sworn in must have been written...

-The Hindu   Chennai: Nature, in its generosity, must have said: "Let a thousand seeds grow on the humble stalk", as far as millets are concerned. These Forgotten Foods, which Navdanya has ceaselessly worked at bringing back to the food basket for the past 25 years, are indeed superstars of our agriculture. Though they need very little pampering, being water prudent and growing in the hardiest terrain, they yield the maximum nutrition per...

-The Hindu   When an electoral system structurally discriminates against particular categories such as persons with disabilities, it is tantamount to a failure of the democracy as a whole The Citizens of India are in the process of casting their votes in what is being widely hailed as the largest election in human history. By sheer size, the 16th Lok Sabha elections signal a triumph not only for India, but for democratic exercises...

-The Hindustan Times     Tembhli, Nandurbar: She got the country's first Aadhaar card. But after around four years, Ranjana Sonawane is disillusioned. "We have no money. No jobs. Just a card," she says. "How will I eke out a living with a card?" On September 29, 2010, Ranjana and nine other tribal residents of Tembhli village in Nandurbar district, Maharashtra, were given the cards at the launch of the Aadhaar programme by...

-Live Mint     As a democracy matures, Citizens become more willing to trust elected representatives to plan and take steps for the long-term growth and development One common complaint during this election has been that the election commission (EC) has to be consulted before the government and its regulatory agencies take any routine decision. Decisions relating to gas price hikes and bank licences all had to be cleared by the EC, whose over...