-The Times of India Changes in laws dealing with sexual assault approved by the Cabinet define "position of authority" to include social, political and economic dominance over a victim of rape - parameters wide enough to encompass most forms of exploitation. The fine print of Thursday's Cabinet decision also retains an important caveat to making 18 the age of consent with an exception being made -- with reference to Section 375 of...

-The Hindu Every fourth girl married in rural Rajasthan and every fifth girl married in rural Bihar and Jharkhand is less than 18 years -- this despite several measures taken by the government to check child marriages in the country. Only 50 per cent deliveries are considered safe in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh and just about 45 per cent children are fully immunised in Uttar Pradesh. The percentage of men getting married...

-The Times of India India's official unemployment rate last year was 3.8%, data released recently by the Labour Bureau shows, but, as always, averages hide many stories. A closer look at the numbers shows that unemployment rises with education level to 10% among graduates, and higher still for backward castes. The Chandigarh-based Labour Bureau under the union ministry of labour and employment released the 'Employment and Unemployment Survey 2012' last week. The...

-Oxfam India Oxfam India launches food justice bulletin along with the Institute of development Studies (IDS), calls for assessing government's commitment to hunger Despite enormous growth in economic and political power, 46 per cent of Indian children are malnourished, and 1 in 3 of the world’s hungry live in India. Yet India stands on the threshold of potentially the largest step toward food justice the world has ever seen, as the National...

-Live Mint Uttar Pradesh emerges as the state having the worst healthcare indicators in the country Safe child deliveries, the use of contraceptives, and post-natal care for mothers are still largely alien concepts in India’s poorest states, a government survey has found. Uttar Pradesh (UP) emerged as the state having the worst health indicators in the country. The Annual Health Survey (2010-11) to assess the impact of the government’s flagship health programme, the National...