In developing societies political parties exercise an influential role. They aim to achieve power and after having achieved it they wish to maintain it by several mechanisms; besides less awareness of the people about the true nature of the democratic system in such societies, there exist limited options to bring the government within a people-centric corruption-free framework. In these societies the civil society too exists but in underdeveloped form. The situation...

-The Telegraph   Bengal is the only state in India where maternal mortality rate has increased over a recent three-year period, although it is close to achieving key millennium development Goal targets, indicating human and social development, for 2015. The findings of the latest nation-wide sample registration survey (SRS) shows that India’s maternal mortality rate (MMR), the number of women between 15 and 49 years dying from childbirth associated causes per 100,000...

-PTI   India has contributed to a large reduction in global poverty, according to the UN annual report on the Millennium Development Goals , which also pointed out that despite progress, the most vulnerable sections of society were being left out. The report, which was released on Thursday , said that poverty continues to decline in many countries and regions. It said that the fastest and sharpest reductions in poverty were in Eastern...

-The Economic Times   A group of ministers formed to approve the draft mining Bill, has agreed to earmark 100% of the royalty paid by major mineral mining companies , to compensate people displaced by such projects. The panel, chaired by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee , which met on Thursday , also agreed to earmark 26% of the profit made by coal mining companies, in favour of people directly affected ,...

Not satisfied with a probe ordered by the Chhattisgarh government, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to immediately take over the investigation into the incidents of violence that occurred in March in Morpalli, Tadmetla and Timmapuram villages in Dantewada district or its neighbouring areas. A Bench of Justices B. Sudershan Reddy and S.S. Nijjar, in an order on a writ petition filed by Professor Nandini Sundar...