-The Hindu     To be able to deliver appropriate legal services to the rural and tribal communities, we need an alternative delivery system with a different model of legal service providers Delivery of legal services to the rich and the corporate class is organised not through individual lawyers but through a series of networked law firms. These firms employ hundreds of lawyers and domain experts all over the country to provide highly specialised...

-The Hindu Is the voting population a true reflection of the country's population? New data for Delhi indicates that marginalised groups are less likely to be registered or vote, but the election commission is narrowing this gap. An Election Commission of India-commissioned survey shows that Muslims, new migrants, women and young people were less likely to be registered and vote than others. The ECI's own analysis of its data also shows that...

-The Hindu Call to address women's issues by decision-making bodies at all levels Calling for addressing women's issues, needs and concerns by decision-making bodies at all levels of governance, women's groups on Thursday released a gender manifesto with a hope that political parties would consider it for the upcoming general elections. Demanding inclusion of development of legal frameworks that ensure gender equality within political parties, development and effective implementation of women-friendly legislation, implementation...

-The Hindu To have a say in beneficiary selection THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has said that the government is considering delegation of powers to the grama sabhas to recommend beneficiaries for various welfare programmes of the State and Central governments. The Chief Minister was discussing follow up action with Collectors of eight districts, where mass contact programmes had been held, through a video conference. Mr. Chandy said the grama sabhas were in...

-Down to Earth Expresses concern over alcohol brands being advertised in violation of rules India is emerging as the favourite destination for alcohol promotion of marketing companies. Their new targets are women and youth, who at present comprise a very small percentage of alcohol consumers in India. These are the observations made by a report-Alcohol Marketing and Regulatory Policy Environment in India-put out by the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI). It...