-The Times of India New Delhi: Transgenders will soon be categorised as "third gender" and be eligible for welfare benefits including reservations in jobs and education. They would also be able to choose their gender after undergoing sex-change surgery. The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill puts the "third gender" at par with weaker communities like SC/STs and OBCs to end discrimination against them. The Union Cabinet approved the legislation piloted by social...

-The Indian Express Agriculture needs a champion in the Union Cabinet. July, this year, marks the silver jubilee of economic reforms. It is time to take stock of our major successes and failures. There is a saying that bad times are often good for policies and good times are bad for policies. It is well-known that the foreign exchange crisis, with reserves falling to as low as $1.5 billion, triggered fundamental changes...

-The Hindu Confining it to just the Ministry of Rural Development would be the most retrograde step in democratic decentralisation in over a quarter century. If, as The Hindu’s exclusive on Wednesday indicates, Prime Minister Narendra Modi were to close down the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, it would confirm one’s worst fears about his government’s hypocritical approach to grass-roots democracy for grass-roots development. This was a lacuna that was evident in the ‘Gujarat...

-PTI The government approved on Wednesday a Rs 6,000-crore special package for textiles and apparel sector to create one crore new jobs in 3 years, attracting investments of $11 billion and generating $30 billion in exports. The measures approved include additional incentives for duty drawback scheme for garments, flexibility in labour laws to increase productivity as well as tax and production incentives for job creation in garment manufacturing. “Over the last few years, apparel...

-Livemint.com Majority in India own a house, but that does not mean opulence like it would mean in an advanced country A year ago, the Union Cabinet gave its approval to the “Housing for all by 2022” mission with a special focus on providing affordable housing to economically weaker sections in urban areas. While it is still early days to assess the scheme’s progress, what exactly is the housing situation in...