-The Telegraph New Delhi: Prospective parents looking to adopt might in future have to choose the child they want as their own by going through photographs, with the government planning to end the practice of allowing them to meet several children before they take one home. Under existing rules, prospective parents can meet at least three children - referred by an adoption agency - before they take a decision. Draft guidelines the women...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: In a move to put the rights of women in live-in relationships and single independent daughters on a legally firmer footing, an expert committee set up the Centre has recommended an amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to ensure their rightful claim to maintenance. The report is expected to be discussed at an inter-ministerial meeting on Monday. The Pam Rajput Committee report, recently submitted to...

-PTI NEW DELHI: The government is likely to promulgate the land ordinance for an unprecedented fourth time after conclusion of Parliament's monsoon session, with no consensus still in sight on the contentious bill. The Joint Committee of Parliament headed by BJP MP SS Ahluwalia, which is looking into the contentious legislation, meanwhile plans to seek a two-week extension till August 3 to finalize its report. Indications are that the panel is unlikely to...

-Economic and Political Weekly This is not "big data" to be used to cut down welfare expenditure. It was the Ministry of Rural Development which, for close to five years beginning in 2010, designed, planned and oversaw the execution of the 2011 Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC), whose first batch of results were released earlier this month. Yet, it was somewhat unusual to see Union Minister for Finance, Arun Jaitley, rather...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Marital rape could soon be an offence, if a Centre-appointed panel has its way. The Pam Rajput committee, that recently submitted its report to the women and child development (WCD) ministry, has recommended that as a pro-woman measure, marital rape should be consider an offence irrespective of the age of the wife and the relationship between the perpetrator and survivor. The recommendations will be discussed in an inter-ministerial...