-The Hindu Business Line The case against labour inspector raj is overstated. Labour courts need to be strengthened The labour reform debate in India has acquired renewed vigour under the new government. The Rajasthan and the Haryana governments have recently proposed to amend a few Central labour laws. The Ministry of Labour and Employment has also circulated labour reform proposals. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has issued an "advisory" to the...

-Outlook Over 20 per cent of food items served in restaurants and fast food outlets across the country have been found to be substandard or adulterated, according to government data. Out of 46,283 food samples including milk, milk products, edible vegetable oil and spices tested at various government laboratories during 2013-14, as many as 9,265 samples were found to be adulterated and misbranded. Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of such cases in...

-The Hindu Jaipur (Rajasthan): It was Jaipal's wedding at Gugal Kota in Alwar on June 21. His father, Roshan Lal, made him ride a decorated horse, at the head of the wedding party, to the bride's home. But the Rajputs in the village disliked such a celebration by a Dalit family and they would not allow it to go on. Mr. Jaipal was pulled down from the horse on the road and...

India has witnessed many fiery debates on poverty estimates. Equally contentious has been the issue of inequality. Now a new report on exclusion offers a fresh perspective on poverty, inequality and social justice. (See below a summary of the report) Based on data and knowledge resources available in the public domain, India Exclusion Report 2013-14 highlights the systematic discrimination faced by women, Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Muslims, persons with...

-The Hindu   Although meant to function as watchdogs, human rights institutions in India are treated as subordinate departments with scant regard for their autonomy or statutory character A change in the occupancy of 7, Race Course Road, is spelling change in the composition of statutory bodies in India. With the Governors of various States, the office-bearers of the National Disaster Management Authority and the Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of...