-The Hindu For any law to truly liberate those trapped in manual scavenging, their numbers must first be established by a comprehensive survey Everybody declares with a full heart, and in a low voice, that it is a national shame. From Manmohan Singh and Pratibha Patil to Mukesh Ambani and Aamir Khan, the last mentioned a new convert to the Dalit cause, there is no dearth of people queuing up to take...

-The Telegraph Kolkata: Owners of potato cold storages today announced a day’s shutdown on Monday and threatened a longer agitation to protest the Mamata Banerjee government’s refusal to allow a rent hike. Many officials termed this as another instance of the “populist” government’s reluctance to raise tariffs. “The rent is our only source of income. Overhead costs have spiralled in the past two years. But the government is not allowing us to increase...

-The Times of India Stocking up of foodgrains by the government could be one of the major factors for the continuing surge in food prices, warn experts. Latest wholesale price data available on the industry department's website shows that wheat prices are up almost 20% in October compared to a year ago. That's at a time when the government is holding stocks of 42 million tonnes — three times the buffer stock...

-Frontline There are no effective vaccines against Japanese encephalitis, but its spread can be controlled in India through vector management.  JAPANESE ENCEPHALITIS, or JE, has become endemic in many parts of the country, occurring repeatedly in epidemic form in many of them—for instance, in parts of Gorakhpur in northern Uttar Pradesh. One can expect JE-type epidemics year after year in States where prolonged drought-like conditions are followed by heavy monsoons. This leads to...

-The Hindustan Times An uneasy combination of the BJP, the Left and the estranged UPA ally, the Trinamool Congress, is set to provide fireworks during the winter session of Parliament beginning next week. The issue: The government’s decision to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail sector through an executive decision. At least 15 MPs belonging to the BJP-led NDA, Trinamool and Left parties had till late Wednesday evening served notices under...