-The Hindu More needs to be done to enforce the law banning manual scavenging. This monsoon, India's Parliament passed a law of enormous social significance prohibiting and punishing manual scavenging, which remains the most degrading form of untouchability and caste discrimination in the country. This is not the first time this practice was outlawed: untouchability and forced labour were forbidden in the Constitution itself and, in 1993, a law was first passed...

-The United Nations United Nations independent experts today called on Indian authorities to immediately halt the construction of a massive steel plant in the eastern state of Odisha - formerly known as Orissa - which threatens to displace more than 22,000 people Jagatsinghpur District and disrupt the livelihoods of thousands more in the surrounding area. "The construction of a massive steel plant and port in Odisha by multinational steel corporation POSCO must...

-The Hindu Says State government is doing a stellar job to ensure social security and welfare of the poor THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi said here on Monday that the UPA government at the Centre and the United Democratic Front government in Kerala would work together to provide a responsive government and fulfil the aspirations of the people. She was inaugurating the first phase of the distribution of title deeds to...

-The Economic Times In the leaky system of welfare delivery, databases are the newest valve that governments are installing to ensure that benefits reach those-and only those -they are intended for. Since December 2012, for instance, the government of Madhya Pradesh has been appending on to the Centre's Socio Economic and Caste Census a host of household-level data: bank account numbers, NREGA card numbers, welfare entitlements, land ownership, whether their house is...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The goons and police can hang their heads in shame. Together, for once. The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha today with overwhelming support, with almost every speaker narrating how the police and criminals harass hawkers. The debate wove a tragic tale of exploitation and neglect of the poorest "entrepreneurs" of society while powerful support systems were available...