-Outlook Union Home Ministry, the nerve centre of country's internal security today witnessed a protest by over 200 contractual employees outside the office of a senior official over non-payment of dues. As many as 204 employees stood outside the office of Joint Secretary (Administration) Bhagwan Shankar inside the ministry in support of their demand for release of wages. The Home Ministry had hired the services of a private manpower firm -- Xecute...

-DNA Mumbai: If you are one of those who cross the road when the green signal is on, then its time you stop. A study conducted by Mumbai traffic department has revealed that majority of those who die on Mumbai's roads are pedestrians. The study was conducted between 2008 and 2012. "Pedestrians' account for majority of the deaths on Mumbai's roads. This is followed by bikers," said Vivek Phansalkar, joint commissioner of police...

-The Hindu Identifying 37 per cent - or about 60,000 square km - of the Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive, a high-level panel has recommended that "destructive" activities such as mining, thermal power, major construction, and some hydel power projects should not be allowed there. However, the panel was silent about any restrictions in the remaining 96,000 square km area, thus creating the perception that it had diluted earlier recommendations that the...

KEY TRENDS   • According to National Sample Survey report no. 583: Persons with Disabilities in India, the percentage of persons with disability who received aid/help from Government was 21.8 percent, 1.8 percent received aid/help from organisation other than Government and another 76.4 percent did not receive aid/ help *8   • As per National Family Health Survey-4 (NFHS-4), the Under-five Mortality Rate (U5MR) was 57.2 per 1,000 live births (for the non-STs it was 38.5)...

-The Economic Times The government's plan to make the Aadhaar number the centrepiece of the cash-transfer system is now facing opposition from a new quarter: banks. Several banks, led by the State Bank of India, have expressed reservation against jettisoning their current systems in favour of the platform created by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which issues the Aadhaar number and wants to make it the basis to authenticate...