-The Hindu   Rajasthan records the highest number of cases followed by U.P. There is a 17 per cent increase in registered cases of atrocities against members of the Schedules Castes in 2013 as compared to 2012 and the conviction rate is around 23 per cent, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot said on Friday. He was speaking at a two-day conference of ministers and principal secretaries dealing with Scheduled Castes,...

-The Business Standard Nilekani probably managed to save the project by a persuasive talk with Modi, but the concerns haven't gone away It is widely believed that Nandan Nilekani's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saved the ambitious Aadhaar project from oblivion or a takeover by the home ministry. Within a couple of days of the meeting, Modi gave directions to expedite enrolments through Aadhaar, along with the direct benefits transfer (DBT) project...

-Economic and Political Weekly The relationship between depleting water levels and school dropout rates is poorly studied. As chronic water shortages begin to affect more regions of the country, this trend will begin to appear more forcefully. Kishore Jha (kishor.delhi6@gmail.com) is working on child rights with Terre des Homes, Germany. Devender, a 14-year-old boy from Kheeda village in Almora district in Uttarakhand State, studies in Class 8. He spends at least three hours...

-The Hindu Business Line Corruption in NREGA works has steadily declined in recent years. There are important lessons here that need to be extended to other domains One neglected aspect of the debate on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) relates to the process aspects of the programme. In the process of planning works, organising employment, paying wages or fighting corruption, many valuable activities take place: Gram Sabhas are held, workers...

-The Hindu Hyderabad: Small, marginal farmers will continue to dominate Indian agriculture with their number and share in the holdings and cultivated area increasing. They will go in for improved crops and agricultural practices bearing the risks of rising costs, volatile commodity market and difficulties in accessing inputs. "Their role in the food security of the country is CERTain. But what is unCERTain is their security," said Prof. D. Narasimha Reddy, ICSSR...