-The Hindu In his book on Bihar, M.R. Sharan provides a closely observed, scholarly, and empathetic account of the struggle to make constitutional promises a reality in rural India  M.R. Sharan’s splendid book brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion. The scene is a public meeting at “Narega Chowk” in Ratnauli village, Muzaffarpur district of Bihar. Activists of Bihar Manrega Watch (BMW) are helping resolve grievances. An old woman...

-The Telegraph With a per capita income at a whopping $2554, poverty is down; exports are up and GDP is fueled by both agriculture and manufacturing; but the downside is a growing nexus between politics and business There is justifiable pride all around at Bangladesh’s remarkable performance in both the economic and social development dimensions. “Pakistan and India don’t matter. We have done better than both!” The figures speak for themselves. The renowned...

-Newsclick.in Petrol and diesel prices have also Zoomed, as Modi government rakes in over Rs.3.73 lakh crore as tax. The Central government continues to squeeze millions of Indians by relentlessly raising the prices of essential fuels, such as cooking gas and petrol/diesel. In the past one year, the price of a standard 14.2 kg cylinder of cooking gas (LPG) has been hiked by an incredible Rs.301.75, from Rs.604.63 (average of four metros)...

-The Hindu 2 health workers symptomatic, 188 contacts isolated KOZHIKODE: After a gap of over three years, a case of the Zoonotic Nipah virus infection was reported in Kozhikode district of Kerala on Sunday morning, with the death of a 12-year-old boy from Pazhoor, near Chathamangalam, at a private hospital. State Health Minister Veena George told the media that a contact list of 188 persons, a majority of them healthcare workers, had been...

-Down to Earth The disease has been on India’s radar since 2006; need to strengthen disease surveillance, train workforce and build robust laboratories    The death of an 11-year-old boy from Haryana at Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences due to Avian influenza — the first such fatality in the country — has stressed the need to respond to Zoonotic diseases in a timely manner.  Experts have flagged the emergence and re-emergence of...