-The Hindu High Court asks Delhi government New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has asked the city government and civic bodies to see if it is feasible to create a financial assistance scheme for marginalised sections of society, such as transgenders or orphans, in lines with the existing old age pension scheme. Delhi already has an old age financial assistance scheme and a disability pension scheme named ‘Financial Assistance to Persons with Special...

-National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) 16th Dec, 2017: National Alliance of People’s Movements is deeply concerned that the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016, to which there is massive resistance across the country from the transgender, intersex, genderqueer people, is being tabled in the Winter Session of the Parliament. The Bill in its current form is an unfortunately regressive step back from the landmark judgemnt of the Supreme Court...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Human rights of the elderly people are increasingly being violated because of the "popularity of nuclear and small families, lack of intergenerational interaction, and non-existence of an inclusive social security system". This has been the finding of a study conducted by Agewell Foundation on 5,000 senior citizens across India. The study report was released on Sunday on the occasion of International Human Rights Day. The report also...

-Down to Earth India needs to find a permanent solution to the problem of public stock holding, as it is a matter of survival for hundreds of millions people During the negotiations for WTO Agreement on Agriculture in 2001, India raised concerns over food security and flexibility that developing nations must have when it comes to providing subsidies to key farm inputs. Seventeen years have passed since then and countries like...

-Down to Earth The local administration in Jharkhand is undermining the decentralised scheme, created to enhance livelihood, manage natural resources and improve basic infrastructure in rural areas Yojna Banao Abhiyan (YBA) was an outcome of two government programmes – Mission Antodaya (Intensive Participatory Planning Exercise (IPPE-II)) of the Ministry of Rural Development, and Gram Panchayat Development Planning of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. It gave an opportunity to newly elected gram panchayats...