-Outlook Hyderabad: Union Ministry of Women and Child Development today announced setting up of dedicated centres catering to women victims of violence across 100 districts in the country. "The 'One Stop Crisis Centre for Women' (OSCCW), aimed at helping the women victims of domestic and other forms of violence, to be located at hospitals, will have a senior doctor as coordinator and comprise a counsellor, police officer, lawyer, on-duty doctor and support...

-The Indian Express The Union Cabinet Friday allowed capital punishment for those convicted in extreme cases of sexual assault and a minimum prison term of 20 years for gangrape, as it approved an ordinance to strengthen laws to help fight sexual crimes against women. The ordinance implements many recommendations of the Justice J S Verma panel that was constituted after the December 16 gangrape of a 23-year-old woman in a bus in...

-The Hindu Women’s groups demand a separate Centrally-sponsored scheme with enough funds to ensure proper implementation of the Domestic Violence Act, 2005 Women’s groups have questioned the Centre’s commitment to address the issue of domestic violence and ensuring women’s security in the wake of its failure to allocate sufficient funds for the implementation of the Protection of Women against Domestic Violence Act, 2005. Women’s groups and activists are now demanding a separate...

-The Times of India Should maternity benefits and nutritional support to children under government schemes be restricted to only the first two children in order to "encourage stabilization of population"? Raising a storm among activists, the Parliamentary standing committee has recommended so while assessing the National Food Security Bill. The recommendation has been objected to by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights also. The other recommendations of the standing committee...

-Live Mint National Advisory Council seeks an institutional audit of the implementation of the Right to Education programme In yet another signal that the ruling Congress party is getting ready for the next general election, the National Advisory Council (NAC), which sets the social agenda for the Union government, has sought an institutional audit of the implementation of the government’s marquee Right to Education (RTE) programme. NAC is headed by Congress party...