-The Telegraph Thousands of labourers are trafficked out of India every day with promises of more money and a better life. But the reality is far from it Time: 6 in the morning. Place: office of the National Anti-Trafficking Committee (NATC) in south Calcutta. The NATC is a non-government organisation. There are seven men sitting around a square table. They have landed hours ago from Kuala Lumpur, where they were working as...

  Air quality in North India in general and Delhi National Capital Region (Delhi NCR) in particular plunged to its lowest point in recent years during October-November thanks to a variety of factors. Through media reports one comes to know that stubble burning (also called paddy straw burning/ crop residue burning) is chiefly responsible for the public health crisis in India's capital and its nearby regions. Data accessed from the website...

-The Indian Express From September 28 to October 1, Patna received about 400 mm of rainfall. With all 39 sump houses remaining non-functional till October 1, at least 60 per cent of Patna faced water-logging. * “Any modern city requires four basic infrastructure systems in place to function efficiently — drinking water supply system, storm water drainage system, sewage system and sewerage network system, and solid waste management system. Patna Municipal...

-The Hindu Business Line A dispersed pattern of urbanisation leads to sprawl with higher motorisation and pollution. A new urban vision is needed India’s demographic dividend cannot be realised if young entrants to the labour force as well as potential migrants from agriculture do not gain new livelihoods. Hastening of the structural transformation brings with it three mega-challenges for policy-makers: employment of migrants; growing urbanisation; and ensuring better education and vocational training...

-The Telegraph Yediyurappa sought department cash for flood relief Bangalore: The Karnataka government has shunted out an IAS officer who reportedly refused to divert funds from her department for flood relief. Rohini Sindhuri, secretary of the Karnataka Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Board, was shifted without a posting after she apparently ignored orders to contribute a slice of the department’s funds for flood relief. Chief minister and BJP leader B.S. Yediyurappa had...