-The Times of India NEW DELHI: India, with the highest malaria burden outside Africa, will need an investment of $18 billion to achieve its 2030 deadline to eliminate the disease, says a latest estimate by the health ministry and malaria advocacy groups. Severe malaria outbreaks in India, aggravated by poor sanitation and drainage, underline an urgent and growing need for financial commitment to deal with a menace estimated to inflict nearly $2...

-TheWire.in Jayalalithaa’s schemes – such as her canteens and baby care kits – may appear to be populist at first glance, but are actually quite entrenched in a welfare tradition. For development economists, Tamil Nadu offers many lessons in social democracy. The state has distinguished itself with visionary schemes – such as noon meals (known as the mid-day meal scheme nationally) and the Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy Maternity Benefits Scheme, which provides Rs...

-TheWire.in A report by the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy found that on an average, a law took 261 days to come into force and 14% of laws took a whopping 1000 days to become implementable. The term ‘legal reform’ has caught the imagination of policymakers, the judiciary and the general public, taking everyone by storm. Suddenly, everybody is clamouring to usher in new laws and weed out redundant ones. The government...

-Deccan Herald India is not doing enough to protect its youngest citizens. According to ‘Vital Statistics of India based on Civil Registration System 2014’ report, around 1.89 lakh infants died in 2014 and around 80,190 of them were girls. Though there was a reduction in the number of infant deaths - 1.87 lakh infants died the previous year, including 80,609 girls – the drop was very marginal. Several of India’s...

-TheWire.in To oppose the forest department’s plan to limit open grazing, the pastoral community is formally pursuing their collective land rights through the Forest Rights Act. The sun has not yet decided to rise. It’s pitch black out but a group of Maldharis has already assembled for the last session of this year’s milking competition. Their massive buffalos are majestically adorned with intricate garlands and colourful necklaces. The panch (group of five...