-Economic and Political Weekly The Mid-Day Meal Scheme is the world's biggest school lunch programme and is being implemented all over India for primary and upper primary school students. However, nutrition and hygiene are now among the main challenges it faces. Out of 876 test reports of mid-day meal samples in Delhi from 1 January 2012 to 31 March 2013, more than 90% failed to meet the standard of 12 gms...

-Outlook Delhi faces frequent pollution emergency which could lead to health hazards, a recent study has found after the city's air quality was monitored on the same benchmark as that of Beijing or United States. A study by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) conducted between October 1, 2013 and January 31, reviewed the state of air quality reporting by monitoring agencies in Delhi and Beijing. "If we apply the air quality classification...

-Kafila.org The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill was meant to be an enactment to codify India's obligations under the UNCRPD, which it ratified without reservations. There was a Committee set up in 2009 by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, headed by Smt. Sudha Kaul, to draft a Bill to this effect. Like the UNCRPD says, the Committee included different people with disabilities - across disabilities - to draft...

-The Hindu The disability sector is torn between rejecting the Bill outright and assembling a few non-negotiables to have the Bill passed by the Lok Sabha After inter-governmental consultation and scrutiny by the Ministry of Law, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2013 stands approved by the Union Cabinet. What has the Cabinet approved? Is it the same legislation formulated by a joint committee of civil society, States and Union Ministries...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: Eight years after the RTI Act was enacted, a reality check reveals that accessing information in most parts of the country is a long wait. While most states do not have enough commissioners and the pendency of appeals has only increased, in several other parts of India, the process of hearing appeals has become non-functional. RTI activist Sunil Ahya, who commissioned the survey by connecting with information...