-The Hindu   Books will soon be procured for all the children, says district coordinator of SSA Tiruvallur: Asish Mehra sits in the front row of his class, flipping through his notebook. There is hardly any space between the Oriya letters, as if he is desperately trying to save paper. It is his only notebook, and it turns out Asish is indeed trying to make the paper last. He is one of the many...

-Tehelka With 65 percent of the population below the age of 35, India boasts of an unparalleled generational dividend, but are we turning this potential into a disaster? Avalok Langer spots a ticking time bomb Nutrition & Health* 40% of children in India are malnourished 43% of children in the age group of 12-23 months receive full immunisation 48%+ of children are underweight 50%+ of all deaths under age 5 are related to malnutrition 45% of children...

-PTI The National Green Tribunal has asked the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests to take expeditious steps to finalise the report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel or any other committee set up to study the environmental sensitivity and ecological significance of the Western Ghats. A Bench, headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar, Chairperson of the tribunal, has granted the Ministry three weeks' time, as a last opportunity, to finalise the...

-The Hindu Study conducted by Madurai-based NGO reveal Villupuram, Virudhunagar, Dharmapuri and Theni among districts topping the list Madurai: In the last 15 years, atrocities against Dalits touched their peak in 2012 across Tamil Nadu, with Villupuram, Virudhunagar, Dharmapuri and Theni among districts topping the list. A comprehensive study conducted by Madurai-based NGO ‘Evidence' recently reveals that except in the Dharmapuri incident, compensation and rehabilitation had not reached the victims across the...

-The Economic Times Tribal affairs minister Kishore Chandra Deohas reportedly written to the governors of nine states asking them to cancel mining concessions granted in violation of the law. The Forest Rights Act of 2006 mandates the permission of the gram sabha of a tribal community for using their habitat for purposes other than customary use. So, if mining leases have been granted without the permission of gram sabhas on tribal land,...