-The Hindu To bridge the gap in development between the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and non-SCs and STs, a coalition of more than 150 organisations is demanding a national law to prevent, once and for all, the diversion, non-release, non-implementation and lapsing of the Special Component Plans for SCs/STs. In response to the coalition's longstanding demands, the National Advisory Council's guidance and the letter Sonia Gandhi wrote to the Prime Minister...

KEY TRENDS   • According to National Sample Survey report no. 583: Persons with Disabilities in India, the percentage of persons with disability who received aid/help from Government was 21.8 percent, 1.8 percent received aid/help from organisation other than Government and another 76.4 percent did not receive aid/ help *8   • As per National Family Health Survey-4 (NFHS-4), the Under-five Mortality Rate (U5MR) was 57.2 per 1,000 live births (for the non-STs it was 38.5)...

-The Times of India The tearing hurry which led the government to issue an ordinance in January, empowering the Election Commission to reserve or de-reserve constituencies meant for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes without waiting for delimitation, may not have been justified. For, the demographic data in this regard is still being tabulated by the census authorities, leaving EC no scope to even start the "limited delimitation exercise". According to census sources,...

-The Hindu ‘Wilful negligence’ by public servants should be defined better in 24-year-old law Dedicated fast track courts to try offences under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act should be set up, the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council recommended on Tuesday, even as it suggested that “wilful negligence” by public servants be better defined in the 24-year-old law. The NAC would like the Rules to the Act amended to...

-Live Mint Preventing entry of Dalits, tribespeople to places of worship should be made a punishable offence, says NAC Preventing Dalits and tribespeople from entering places of worship will be made a punishable offence under legal changes proposed by the National Advisory Council (NAC), which sets the social policy for the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. Obstructing members of such groups from using community resources will also be made an offence under...