-The Hindu The Supreme Court’s unyielding criticism of the government for not eradicating the practice of manual scavenging was the springboard for the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to introduce the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Bill, 2012 in the Lok Sabha on September 3. Welcomed as a panacea for the historically iniquitous, caste-ordained practice of manually handling human waste, the new Bill indicates renewed commitment...

-The Economic Times Where will India get its water from in the coming years? The water challenge is already grave and could get graver. By 2050, for instance, it is estimated that demand would go up to 1,180 million cubic metres, 1.65 times the current levels, a situation that would be made worse by fast dwindling fresh water resources. That's why desalination — removing salt from seawater to make fresh water —...

-The Times of India Unwilling to risk their futures to political vagaries, corporate houses tend to hedge their bets and contribute to political parties across the spectrum. Data analyzed by the Association for Democratic Reforms and the National Election Watch has found that the trust which made the maximum contributions to political parties is the General Electoral Trust of the Aditya Birla Group, with Rs 36.46 crore to the Congress between 2003-04...

-The Times of India LUCKNOW: The major source of the income of political parties in India is through donations and voluntary contributions. However, majority donations comes from undisclosed contributors. According to the study conducted by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), an umbrella body of non-governmental organizations working across the country for transparency in political and electoral system, the top five political parties with the highest total income between financial year (FY)...

-The Hindu Laws count for nothing when some of the worst offenders are government-run bodies, agencies and enterprises. The Central government is trying to push through the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Bill, 2012, under pressure from the Supreme Court; but, going by the experience of the past few decades, there is no cause to assume the dehumanising practice of manual removal of human excreta will soon...