-The Hindu A recent survey in the Sunderbans region of West Bengal reveals an alarming trend of rising mental health problem among women Everyday, when Badal, a sturdy young man of Sunderbans returns home at dusk, he finds his mother, Kamala, sitting placidly in the verandah, staring into the distance with strangely unseeing eyes. The house, otherwise, is abuzz with activity. His daughter is bringing in the cows, his sons are clamouring...

-The Hindustan Times Millions of parents and their children may soon no longer have to bear the risks associated with unregulated playschools with dubious teaching methods and crumbling infrastructure that often charge high fees but fail to deliver on promises. The human resource development (HRD) ministry, headed by newly appointed MM Pallam Raju, on Thursday got state governments to agree to expand the Right to Education Act (RTE) to cover preschools. Under...

-The Times of India UPA's National Food Security Bill is facing resistance from not just opposition parties and other expected quarters such as the Trinamool Congress, but also a crucial ally, Samajwadi Party. Uttar Pradesh CM, Akhilesh Yadav, in a two-page letter to PM Manmohan Singh has said that the bill in its present form won't benefit poorer states and should be amended.  For the UPA, which is already beset with pending...

-Pratirodh.com Biometric data based 12 digit Unique Identification (UID)-Aadhaar Number linked welfare schemes is being bulldozed with 2014 elections in mind with the ulterior motive of altering voting behavior of the citizens by creating a ‘universal identity infrastructure’ linked to ‘unified payment infrastructure’.   Ahead of next parliamentary elections, with the launch of 21st crore UID-Aadhaar Number and Aadhaar Enabled Service Delivery (AESD) on October 20, 2012 contemptuously ignores Parliament, Parliamentary Committee,...

-The Times of India The Union health ministry is pushing to decriminalize the act of attempting suicide, which currently is an offence under Section 309 of the IPC with a punishment of up to one year in jail and a fine. The new Mental Health Care Bill 2012, that is expected to be tabled in the winter session, aims to introduce a provision saying "no complaint, investigation or prosecution shall be entertained...