ASHAs will continue to bear the burden of the government's rural health mission as a new order lists more incentive-based services. On May 31, a Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare order listed additional incentivised duties for accredited social health activists, or ASHAs, but was silent on the issue of regularisation of their employment. ASHAs, who bridge the gap between the rural population and the nearest health care outlets under...

-The Economic Times Special Economic Zones will need to fulfill provisions of the proposed Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, if the rural development ministry has its way.  The draft bill, currently being circulated for inter-ministerial consultation, does not exempt land acquired under the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005, Works of Defence Act, 1903, and Cantonments Act, 2006, from adhering to the acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement provisions of the proposed legislation.  Acquisition...

-The Telegraph The Supreme Court today took cognisance of a public interest petition about alleged extra-judicial killings of unarmed nationals by the Border Security Force along the Bengal stretch of the border with Bangladesh. A two-judge bench of Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and Dipak Mishra issued notices to the Centre and the Bengal government after hearing short arguments from senior counsel Colin Gonsalves for the Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha, an NGO that filed...

-The Hindu   The ever-expanding urban regions have lured workers with a promise of better life. But for those in the unorganised sector, particularly women, city life comes laden with a plethora of difficulties. The photograph of the woman worker raises several questions on working conditions and social security. A study commissioned by the National Commission for Woman on the construction industry highlights the monstrous amount of work a woman worker does. “In...

-FAO Sustainable fisheries and aquaculture play a crucial role in food and nutrition security and in providing for the livelihoods of millions of people. FAO's latest flagship publication on the state of fisheries and aquaculture, launched at the opening of the 30th session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries, highlights the sector's vital contribution to the world's well-being and prosperity, a point reflected in the recent Rio+20 Outcome Document. The State of...