-PTI   Kohima: Gariphema village in Nagaland has been declared the country's first "tobacco-free village". The declaration was made by principal secretary R Benchilo Thong on the occasion of "World No Tobacco Day" on Saturday at the Gariphema village council hall. It was result of an initiative taken by the Gariphema village council, Village Vision Cell and Village Students' Union, Thong said. A resolution was taken at the village that whoever sells alcohol and tobacco...

-The Business Standard   A seven-point agenda to fix India's public services, and overcome poorly designed systems India's Achilles Heel remains its inability to deliver public services. India's aspiration to be a global economic power will be unrealised if this remains unsolved. Why is this problem so particularly acute? Is it political interference and corruption, poorly designed programmes and weak administration? Or a much deeper cultural problem of aversion to collective action, often...

-Outlook     Women have outnumbered men in casting votes in five of the 13 states and Union Territories which went to polls in first four phases of Lok Sabha elections and an increase in the aggregate voter turnout was also witnessed as compared to the last general elections. According to data complied by the Election Commission, women voters outnumbered men in Chandigarh, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Sikkim and Lakshadweep. The poll panel considered data of...

-The Hindu While an increased turnout in Assembly elections is not an indicator of the same in Lok Sabha elections, aggressive campaigning points toward a higher turnout in this poll If the pattern of turnout in the Assembly elections held over the last couple of years are of any indication, the turnout in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections should significantly increase. Almost all the Assembly elections held in different States between 2012-13...

-The Hindustan Times As parties gear up for polls, India's two most talked about non-Congress ruled states - Gujarat and Bihar - have been rated as having lesser spending inequality as compared to most other states of the country. A new government study ranks Gujarat as the state having least inequality in urban areas except four north-eastern states of Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram. For rural areas, Bihar earns the top slot...