-The Hindu High Court directs filing of affidavit on measures taken Admitting a public interest litigation petition, the Calcutta High Court on Friday directed the West Bengal government to file an affidavit within two weeks on the measures it has taken to prevent the outbreak of dengue in the State. The petition, filed by advocate Basabi Roy Chowdhury earlier this week, called for a proper policy for monitoring and controlling the disease and...

-Outlook The West Bengal government today decided to financially compensate victims of crime against women, including rape and trafficking. "The scheme is aimed at compensating victims of crime against women. The guidelines have been drawn up mainly to pay compensation to victims of rape and human trafficking," Panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee told reporters after a cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee gave approval to the scheme. The compensation included Rs...

-The Hindu The country has shown that it is possible to have superior social outcomes at lower per capita incomes and rates of economic growth Bangladesh is very much in the news these days in our country, but for the wrong reasons. In the unfortunate Bangladesh-bashing that seems to have become somewhat of a pastime, we seem to have failed to notice the striking developmental success that it has had in the...

-Live Mint The current policy on compensating landowners could adversely affect character of India’s future growth The Parliament is currently considering a land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement Bill (LARR Bill), as are various state legislatures. These are likely to affect the pace and character of future growth in India in a significant way.  Setting up new industries, service establishments and real estate development will inevitably require land to be acquired from rural areas....

-The Hindu Instead of rigid targeting, the government must build on the success of the public distribution system which is quietly becoming a significant means of social support In earlier writings, we have drawn attention to the quiet revival of the public distribution system (PDS) in many States during the last few years. Market prices of PDS commodities — mainly rice and wheat — have sharply increased, giving people a much greater...