-Hindustan Times Aligarh: “She is a very Iron lady,” says Krishna, a municipal stenographer as I wait to meet the mayor of Aligarh, the BJP’s Shakuntala Bharti on a sultry afternoon. After over an hour, clad in a bright red sari with a thick golden border, vermillion streak on forehead and sindoor all the way back in her hair, Bharti, 51, walks in with a small black pug called Blackie. Amongst the first...
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The Aadhaar of all things -Shriya Mohan
-The Hindu Business Line From a severely critical stand against Aadhaar in 2014, the Modi-led BJP in power has made a sharp U-turn to bulldoze its way into having every Indian scanned, tagged and labelled. A timeline of the country’s chequered date with the unique identification project You’ve probably read the WhatsApp joke about a post-Aadhaar scenario in 2020 India. A man orders pizza over phone. He is asked for his Aadhaar...
More »How new law marks paradigm shift, gives mentally ill many clear rights -Abantika Ghosh
-The Indian Express The rights-based approach departs from the ‘assurance-based approach’ of the new National Health Policy, which essentially perpetuates the status quo, explains The Indian Express. Since the time the Mental Health Bill was introduced in Rajya Sabha in 2013, decriminalisation of suicide has been its calling card. However, the legislation travels beyond just that colonial era relic, assuming a rights-based approach to mental healthcare, and creating circumstances for removal of...
More »Tamil Nadu's Amma canteen concept catches on in other states -Nikita Doval
-Livemint.com Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh have started their own versions of Tamil Nadu’s Amma canteens that provide food at heavily subsidized rates New Delhi: The late J. Jayalalithaa’s government in Tamil Nadu had launched Amma Unavagam (Mother’s canteen) with much fanfare in 2013. Meant to provide wholesome food at heavily subsidized rates, the canteens which are run by the government but staffed by women from self-help groups have been a runaway...
More »Govt likely to keep MGNREGA labour budget for 2017-18 unchanged -Sanjeeb Mukherjee
-Business Standard Pending labour wages by the end of 2016-17 could be around Rs 3,000-4,000 crore For the second year running, the Centre is likely to approve a labour budget of around 2.2 billion person-days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The labour budget, for 2017-18, could be enhanced as well, if more demand is generated owing to drought or insufficient rainfall in any part of the country, senior...
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