-The Business Standard Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi professor and development economist Reetika Khera tells Sreelatha Menon that the food Bill may not be a leap ahead, but it is certainly a step forward * The food Bill is a guarantee for lifelong dependence on government doles. As an economist, can one defend such a policy? The food Bill should be seen as an investment. "Labour" is India's most important asset. In that sense,...

-The Hindustan Times A UN report has described India’s water pollution situation as a “time-bomb” while praising social activist Anna Hazare’s village Ralegan Siddhi for using the scarce commodity in a rationale manner. In a stinging remark on water administration in India, the report says India is able to treat just 10 % of its city sewage and industrial waste discharge, the most polluting source for rivers and water bodies. “Presently, only...

-The Hindu The Sunday Story Innocent and unarmed people were beaten up in these incidents. This is animal behaviour: Supreme Court On March 11, the Supreme Court again issued notice to the Centre through the Secretary, Home Department, on police reforms. This was at the suo motu hearing of the case relating to the assault of a woman by Punjab constables and brutal beating up of women teachers in Bihar. Notices were also...

-Frontline How far will the proposed women's bank help marginalised sections when women's SHGs get little support and find it hard even to open accounts in public sector banks? WHILE the recent announcement of a women's bank in the Union Budget has been touted as a progressive measure for the financial inclusion of women, no concrete measures have been forthcoming to make all existing public sector banks sensitive to the needs...

-The Hindu India accounts for the largest number of deaths of infants primarily because it has failed to provide them and their mothers access to critical health care India loses 4,200 children under the age of five every day. This figure is certainly unacceptable for any emerging country. The collective ache of losing so many newborns is worsened by the realisation that many of these deaths are preventable. The country accounts for nearly...