-The Times of India Pune: Torrential rain over some areas in the last few days has helped soothe the parched state, but experts advise that this will not end the spate of droughts. Those in the know point out that lack of rainfall does not necessarily lead to a crippling shortage of water, but it results from a lack of policies, missing drought-proofing infrastructure and lackadaisical institutional mechanisms. "It will be a normal...

-The Times of India JAIPUR: The deep-rooted gender bias in our society is being propagated by the revised school textbooks in Rajasthan. Ample instances hinting at male superiority have been found in Hindi and English revised textbooks. Class III Hindi textbook chapter 'Games' has three pictures showing only boys playing games, indicating that sports is meant only for boys. In most chapters, women have been introduced in reference to men, says a...

-The Hindu The Maharashtra government’s decision to promulgate an ordinance this week to exempt farmers from having to mandatorily sell their fruit and vegetable crop at mandis governed by a 1963 law on marketing farm produce, is a bold and laudable step. That Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has stood his ground against the powerful lobby of middlemen, who shut shop in protest, is even more commendable. The problem with the present...

It was a Rashomon moment for the readers of the First Common Review Mission report when they heard activists complaining about the pension system of Rajasthan during a recent press conference held in the capital. The First Common Review Mission (CRM) report, which was prepared during the month of May this year by a team of 32 experts had observed that pension related payments under the National Social Assistance Programmes (NSAP)...

-IPSNews.net UNITED NATIONS: Despite their contribution to social justice, civil society organisations came under “serious attack” in 109 countries in 2015, according to a new report published by CIVICUS Monday. “Civil society freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly have been under serious attack in 109 countries around the world in 2015 alone,” said Mandeep Tiwana, Head of Policy and Analysis at CIVICUS, an international organisation representing civil society organisations, at a...