-The Hindu Panel for declaring western districts as ‘child right violation zone’ A public hearing on child rights violations in western districts here has identified caste-based discrimination in classrooms as a major reason for rise in the number of school dropouts in six western districts of the State, especially Salem. Dropout among girls, it is found out, has led to the high rate of child marriages. A shocking 13 per cent of children,...

-The Hindu There is little doubt that US universities have a long way to go in terms of making women safe on campus In the wake of the high-profile gang rape incident in New Delhi on December 16, media and public comments have significantly centred on anti-woman attitudes in Indian society, particularly among young men. This line of introspection is indeed warranted, for there can be little doubt that these values have fuelled...

-Denver Post BANWASA, India — The teenage girl was overpowered by four men at a railway crossing near this village and bundled into a car. For five days she was kept, imprisoned and naked, in a windowless outhouse on nearby farmland and raped repeatedly. Despite its brutality, the September incident merited just a few lines in a domestic news-agency story about a string of such crimes in the northern state of Haryana....

-Live Mint Decline came as labour productivity grew 7.6%; wage growth remains far below pre-crisis levels globally  India’s real wages fell 1% between 2008 and 2011, while labour productivity grew 7.6% in the same period, International Labour Organization (ILO) data showed on Friday, indicating that the benefits of the country’s economic growth didn’t translate into better pay for workers in the aftermath of the global economic crisis. In contrast, China’s real wage growth...

-The Times of India CHENNAI: Seeking and giving information under Right to Information Act has been a cat-and-mouse game for citizens and officials since the legislation came into effect in October, 2005. Now, senior bureaucrats are giving crash courses to public information officers (PIOs) on how to delay or deny information to applicants. At informal sessions, officers coach PIOs - responsible for giving information under the act - how to redirect queries...