-The Business Standard But urban homelessness has increased As part of the 2011 census operations the government took a count of homeless people across the country on the night of February 28, 2011. The numbers of India's homeless population emerging from that survey were made public a few days ago. Although a single-day exercise has many advantages, some people have also contested it - at least one non-governmental organisation working in the...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: An Indian government laboratory released a formulation of salt fortified with iodine and iron for mass consumption, calling it a tool to combat anaemia and iodine deficiency, without adequate and rigorous evidence to show that it increases blood haemoglobin levels, scientists have said. The National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad, has shared the formulation and production technology for its double fortified salt (DFS) with seven salt-producing companies, some...

-The United Nations Sustainable Cities are an aspiration as the number of slum dwellers continues to rise and the rate of urbanization skyrockets, a senior United Nations official today said, ahead of an upcoming UN forum that will focus on creating Cities and towns more economically, socially and politically accessible. "One of the main aspects in urbanization is to diminish the level of inequality because it presents a new set of social...

-Outlook Kolkata: Opposing the blanket ban imposed on bicycles and other forms of non-motorised transport (NMT) in the city, eminent social activist Medha Patkar today said such restrictions take away the right to life of poor people. "A lot of poor people are dependent on non-motorised transport for their livelihood, such a ban in effect takes away their right to life," Patkar said at the Transport City Dialogue here through videoconferencing. She said...

-Economic and Political Weekly Knowing full well that the private motor car is more a bane than a boon in terms of the various costs it entails, the time for policymakers in India to encourage greater use of public transport and non-motorised modes is past. Illustrating the politics of privileging car users over the vast majority that uses public transport like buses, this paper points to the vicissitudes the bus rapid...