-Tehelka The new and improved Bill to prevent atrocities against Dalits runs the risk of being put in the cold storage A crime against Dalits happens every 18 minutes - three women raped every day, 13 murdered every week, 27 atrocities every day, six kidnapped every week and so on. This is the data compiled by the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights, an NGO, which paints a grim picture of Indian...

-Sunday Pioneer A cluster of villages engaged in weaving the exquisite Benarasi sarees is in the midst of a serious health crisis. More than 1 lakh people from this once prosperous region have fallen prey to aggressive tuberculosis. Poor living conditions, working in dark rooms and constant inhalation of minute silk threads have weakened the lungs of these artisans. With an average monthly income of not more than Rs3,000, it is...

-The Indian Express New studies find Delhi more polluted than Beijing despite green measures such as the Metro and CNG. The main culprit in the undoing of the advantage, experts feel, is the addition of 1,000 vehicles daily. New Delhi: The advantage Delhi sought to gain from a series of environment-friendly measures, such as its Metro network and fleet of CNG buses and Autos, has been lost with the levels of pollutants...

-The Hindu Details have also been sought on how the States propose to implement new plans for women's safety that can be financed by the Rs. 1,000-crore Nirbhaya Fund. The States and Union Territories that have failed to put in place steps to make public transport systems safe for women will not be eligible for getting their quota of new buses under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), the Union...

-The Hindu The power of the bicycles to confer economic and social freedom even in the age of the automobile remains undiminished. Bihar is using it to cut the dropout rate for girls. Bicycles and safe roads are a winning combination. While she was on her way to school one morning, Smriti's bicycle brushed against a speeding truck, and she fell to the ground. After a few stitches on her injured elbow,...