-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 United Nations With new cancer cases worldwide expected to rise from 14 million to 22 million per year within the next two decades, and annual cancer deaths rising from 8.2 million to 13 million, the United Nations today called for multipronged preventive action including treaties and laws extending tobacco-style restrictions to alcohol and sweetened beverages. "More commitment to prevention and early detection is desperately needed in order to complement improved treatments...

-The Hindu     Educationists emphasise importance of public participation Chennai: The Right to Education (RTE) Act guarantees children a place in school but it requires political will and public participation in running schools and sensitive bureaucrats who understand the needs of children to make it effective, say education activists. At a discussion organised by The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy here on Wednesday, eminent persons associated with children's education spoke of the...

-The Hindu Business Line     Whatever the criticisms against the UPA government may be, its effort to provide employment to large sections of the population under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act must be lauded. Yet, after the initial success of the scheme, the enthusiasm of the Central government itself seems to have diminished in its second term in power. How palpable is the shift to lower gear? Representatives of the UPA...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), sought to be empowered by the Prevention of Communal Violence Bill to oversee action taken by the states to prevent and control communal violence, has declined to monitor performance of duties by civil servants under the Act, saying that it was for their superiors to do so. The human rights body also insisted that collecting information on communal build-ups...