-Hindustan Times The prospect of the youngest offender in the Delhi gang rape case walking free has stirred public opinion in recent weeks, with a string of protests and the parents of the victim urging authorities to detain the convict. Parliament is expected to take up amendments to the juvenile justice bill on Tuesday, a rare political response to public anger over the case, but the outrage has helped mask two crucial...

-The Hindu The manner in which crucial laws are being amended will end up eroding rights that have deep consequences on the lives of our children and us as citizens of a thriving democracy. All because the state hasn’t been able to deliver what it was mandated to do. The last few months have seen an alarming trend of crucial laws being amended, or sought to be amended, in a manner that...

-The Indian Express Healthcare in India is a leading cause of poverty. The medical profession must own its share of the blame Earlier this month, The Lancet published a paper calling for a radical transformation of the architecture of India’s healthcare delivery system if it is to achieve the government’s vision of assuring health for all. The paper documented India’s progress on major health indicators in the past decade, but also...

-The Times of India CHANDIGARH: After fixing minimum educational qualification of Class X for candidates contesting panchayat polls, Haryana will now make class XII mandatory for aspirants to urban local body elections. The Supreme Court on December 10 had upheld Haryana government's earlier decision to mandate class X for panchayat polls, saying illiterates can be barred from contesting. The Haryana advocate general's office has suggested that qualification for people contesting various municipal...

-The Hindu City fetes Jadav Payeng and Abdul Kareem — men who built forests from scratch. Mumbai: Leaders of nations the world over devote a large part of their time, money and policy framework to the growth of the economy. But if they held their breath for a minute, they would realise it is life-sustaining oxygen that needs their urgent attention. At the recently-concluded Paris climate change conference, Jadav “Molai” Payeng, 52, known...