-The Hindu Over the years Indian politics has come to be defined by a peculiar characteristic: it has become more inclusive and representative in terms of caste and class but regressed on issues relating to women. This uncomfortable truth was brought home in the aftermath of the widely condemned Delhi gang rape. Politicians claimed to be revulsed by the violence which extinguished a young life. Yet in their speeches, they borrowed...

-The Times of India BHOPAL: It may not be a sexist remark, but exchanges between lawmakers during the Zero Hour in the Madhya Pradesh assembly on Friday did indicate that some of them appreciate women behind "ghunghat". The reference to "ghunghat" (veil) came during a calling attention motion when BJP MLA from Amarwada constituency in Chhindwara district, Prem Narayan Thakur, demanded regularisation of observers working for the different education schemes. Thakur was previously...

-First Post In an interview with Firstpost, Ajay Chhibber, Regional Director of the UNDP, tells us why India ranks low on the Human Development Index, below China, Sri Lanka and Iran, what we need to do to improve our standing and why welfare schemes are not to be blamed for poor growth or inflation. Excerpts from the interview: * Why does India lag other BRIC countries in the HDI ratings? Compared to the other...

-Outlook Ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections due next year, the UPA government has finalised a draft Bill for providing homes to the homeless in rural areas. The draft of the National Right to Homestead Bill, 2013, prepared by the Rural Development ministry, is almost ready for inter-ministerial consultation, official sources said today According to the eleventh plan document, an estimated 13 to 18 million families in rural India are landless, of which...

-The Economic Times India may have policy of preferring free and open source applications, but still the world's largest software maker Microsoft and others, including Adobe, Norton and McAfee, have managed to weasel their way into some of the largest government purchases in the country's history. Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan are in the process of procuring over eight million laptops preloaded with proprietary software in clear violation of India's national...