-NDTV As Parliament continues to be disrupted by Opposition protests against the government over a slew of issues- mainly coal-gate and the JPC report on the 2G scam -- the ruling UPA is considering moving an ordinance for two of its key bills on land acquisition and food security. The government introduced amendments to the Food Security Bill in the Lok Sabha yesterday, but could not get it passed as...
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Parliamentary panel approves bill to empower EC on seat nomenclature
-PTI A Parliamentary committee has approved a bill which seeks to give limited powers to the Election Commission to determine change in nomenclature of a parliamentary or assembly seat where a caste has been included or excluded from the SC/ST list in the last one decade. The Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Bill, 2013 was referred to the Standing Committee on Law...
More »Half of India’s dalit population lives in 4 states -B Sivakumar
-The Times of India CHENNAI: Four states account for nearly half of the country's dalit population, reveals the 2011 census. Uttar Pradesh stands first with 20.5% of the total scheduled caste (SC) population, followed by West Bengal with 10.7%, says the data released by the Union census directorate on Tuesday. Bihar with 8.2% and Tamil Nadu with 7.2 % come third and fourth. Dalits form around 16.6% of India's population. The 2011...
More »Crumbs on the plate -Harsh Mander
-The Hindustan Times It now seems increasingly unlikely that Parliament will consider the National Food Security Bill during this Budget session. In a land which for centuries suffered devastating famines, where chronic hunger continues to stalk more than 200 million people, and which is home to every third malnourished child on the planet, this would be one more sad betrayal of the country's indigent millions, a reminder of how little they...
More »No bread, lots of beer -Jean Drèze
-The Hindustan Times Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has aptly described the persistence of mass undernutrition in India as a "national shame". What is even more shameful, however, is the passivity of the government - and of the country - towards this humanitarian emergency. The passivity begins with a reluctance to face the facts. The first step towards more effective nutrition policies in India is regular monitoring of the nutrition status of...
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