-The Indian Express Decades of mismanagement have hobbled India’s mental health programme An event commemorating World Mental Health week opened at the WHO in Geneva this week. At a key session, the Disease Control Priorities project released its recommendations to governments to address the burden of mental disorders. This was timely for India, for few countries have witnessed so many high-profile debates related to mental health while ignoring the centrality of mental health...

-The Telegraph Bhubaneswar: Swachh Bharat as a slogan sounds smart, but rampant corruption at the grassroots level is coming in the way of implementing development projects such as constructing toilets in the state. Public sector units executing toilet projects under the Swachh Bharat Swachha Vidayalay Abhiyan are being forced to deal with villagers and sarpanches who want money before the first brick is laid. Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) is one of...

-The Times of India THANE: With little hopes of revival of farmlands in Marathwada region, large-scale migration of farmers from these barren lands to second tier cities like Thane and Navi Mumbai can be expected in future, say experts in the field of migration. Scant showers this monsoon has filled the Marathwada dam up to just about 16%, providing hardly any relief to farmers here. As a result, massive influx of farmers...

-The Hindu The production of waste in India is growing at an exponential rate. However, the welfare and dignity of the informal workers involved in the stigmatised sector of waste management remains at the bottom of any government’s political agenda. Human society has always produced waste and always will. Waste materials — substances without value — are constantly generated in all production, all distribution and all consumption processes. The time waste spends...

The Times of India NEW DELHI: Even as Greenpeace India faces heat from the home ministry over FCRA issues, the environment ministry has ensured it remains in the government's directory of environmental NGOs. The directory, comprising around 2,300 environmental NGOs including Greenpeace, was released by environment and forest minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday. The directory was released ahead of the government's plan to bring out performance-based rating of NGOs working in the field...