-The Indian Express One area that has seen some reform, though, relates to minimum support prices (MSP) payable on official paddy and wheat purchases. The “perfect storm” kicked up by extreme weather events and lower crop price realisations — not to mention the political backlash resulting from its controversial land acquisition ordinance — has meant that the first year of the Modi sarkar has gone by without any major reforms in...

-The Hindu The tragic Nepal quake is an opportunity to learn and understand the threats of great temblors. The Nepal earthquake of April 25 is the largest in the Himalayan region since the 1934 quake which measured 8.2 on the Richter scale and destroyed not only parts of central Nepal but also the plains of northern Bihar in India. Mahatma Gandhi, shaken by the Bihar tragedy, wrote in the Harijan that the...

-The Indian Express Niggling procedural hassles stymie efforts to modernise antiquated labour regulations.   As it completes one year in office, the NDA government seems to have finally bit the bullet and taken up the controversial Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, for amendments that would allow easier retrenchment and closure norms for firms with up to 300 workers though ensuring that the employees get higher compensation in return. The draft code on industrial relations has...

-The Indian Express Delhi’s slums house people whose work makes the lives of its better-off citizens easier but they themselves offer the worst of living conditions. Lakhs of people are denied the basic need for a toilet, breeding indignity and infections. The city’ urban shelter agency DUSIB’s report on how to make the city slum-free is a challenge for any government, especially one elected on a pro-poor agenda. The Indian Express...

-Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Women and Child Development The Union Minister of Women and Child Development , Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi held a meeting with Ms Melinda Gates , co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in New Delhi today.The discussions centred arounda potential partnership to address India’s burden of maternal and childhood malnutrition, among other shared priorities. Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi spoke about the plans to launch the National...