-Press Information Bureau (MoSPI) The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has released the key indicators of urban slums in India, generated from the data collected in its 69th round survey during July 2012 to December 2012. The last survey on slums was conducted as part of the 65th round of NSS (July 2008- June 2009). Slums are part of urban environment and they are identified by...

-The Business Standard Intrastate inequality can only be corrected through reform of budgetary allocation formulae between districts within states The hoopla surrounding election results in India is reminiscent of nothing so much as a horse race ("...and X romps home the winner!"). The difference is that for the horse and its handlers, the work is done when the race is over. For the winners in the recent round of state elections,...

-BBC A survey done earlier this year shows that public facilities in the poorest regions of India have steadily expanded, improving the lives of people there, writes development economist Jean Dreze. Once upon a time, not so long ago, public facilities in the poorest districts of India were few and far between. Most people were left to their own devices and they lived in the shadow of hunger, insecurity and exploitation, with no...

-The Times of India CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu, home to several rare flora and fauna, is lagging behind many other states in implementing the National Biological Diversity Act, 2002, according to data released by the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), an autonomous statutory body. Under the Act, the NBA coordinates the conservation activities across the country, primarily through state biodiversity boards and biodiversity management committees (BMC) constituted at grassroots level. BMCs work towards preserving biological...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: The murder of a young Right to Information activist from Bhiwandi was no aberration for a state that has seen the highest number of attacks on RTI activists since the Act's debut in 2005. Data gleaned by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) shows Maharashtra has seen 53 attacks on RTI activists, including nine cases of murder, over the last eight years. Gujarat comes second with 34...