-The Times of India More newborns die on the first day in India than in any other country, according to the latest 'State Of The World's Mothers 2013' report. Every year, over 309,300 children (29% of global share) in India don't live beyond the first day because of complications associated with preterm birth, hygiene and maternal health. This makes India infamous for leading both maternal and new-born deaths globally. The report...

-The Hindustan Times With key government legislations stuck in Parliament because of disruptions, Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen urged the opposition parties to be "responsible" and discuss the issues in Parliament instead of disrupting it. Sen was speaking at a Press conference organised by civil society groups seeking passage of key legislations such as National Food Security Bill, whistleblower legislation and grievance redressal bill. They were aghast the second part of the budget...

-The Indian Express Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Friday ordered the state government to strictly adhere to the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of) Forest Rights Act, 2006, and the rules framed thereafter under this central Act. The order came on a public interest litigation (PIL) by a group of NGOs, which said the state government was violating the provisions of the Act in deciding the claims of...

-The Hindu   "I think it is a great effort, we are learning a lot from India" Even as India's Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) is yet to be fully implemented under its second phase, the government's flagship programme on distribution of entitlements to the poor came in for praise by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). At a media conference on Saturday on the sidelines of the ADB's ongoing annual meeting at Greater Noida near...

-IPS News India's planners worry about ‘jobless growth', but perhaps nothing illustrates this phenomenon better than a policy of handing over the collection and disposal of the capital's refuse to large private corporations, leaving close to 50,000 ragpickers unemployed. For decades ragpickers provided a service to this city, scavenging waste for recyclable plastic, aluminium, glass and other materials, and earning a livelihood by selling their pickings to contractors with equipment to process...