The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has asked the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to ask the Sports and Youth Affairs Ministry to raise the controversial matter of Dow Chemical sponsorship for the London Olympics 2012 with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). This should be done through the National Olympic Committee in view of the strong public opinion within India. The sponsorship issued has led to outrage among the Bhopal tragedy victims...

After so many wrongs, the Planning Commission may have just got it right. According to leaked accounts, its universal health coverage proposal may become reality as early as the next five-year Plan. Once this policy is in place, India can legitimately enter the club of welfare states through the front door. Now, at last, it has a scheme that is truly inclusive for it includes us all. When implemented, this measure...

Minority welfare schemes should target not districts but smaller units like hamlets and urban wards so that nobody passes under the radar, Sonia Gandhi’s National Advisory Council has told the Centre. The Centre’s 15-point programme for minorities, based on Sachar Committee recommendations, aims at multi-sector development in 90 districts with large minority populations. But the council believes this approach misses many who most need help while many non-minority residents reap indirect...

-Express News Service   A dalit’s house was allegedly set on fire, leaving four of his teenaged children critically injured, in Kanpur while another dalit was allegedly burnt to death in Kannauj district, on Monday. Both incidents were reported to be fallout of the land disputes. In Kanpur, DIG Rajesh Kumar Rai said a fire broke out in Hari Ram Gautam’s house at Sidhhanath Nagar locality early this morning when three of his...

Karnataka, India’s IT success story and its most preferred destination for foreign investment, boasts of the country’s highest per capita income. Its economic indicators are nothing short of superlative and yet the South Indian State accounts for thousands of child deaths due to malnutrition. A recent report shows that despite high SGDP growth and heightened economic activity, Karnataka fares poorly in hunger index and child malnutrition. A recent report by news...