-The Hindu Business Line Will seek removal of Restrictions in ‘peace clause' India has decided to strike a harder bargain on food security at the World Trade Organisation than it did in July. It wants Restrictive conditions attached to the use of the peace clause dropped. New Delhi, which had wanted the ‘peace clause' offering protection against retaliatory action for breaching farm subsidy caps extended indefinitely in return for support to the trade...

-Asia News Network A controversy is brewing over a new cure for hepatitis C because it is extremely expensive and patients in middle-income countries like Malaysia will find it way beyond their budget. There are an estimated 400,000 Malaysians with hepatitis C, but this is probably a significant under-estimate since many people are not aware that they have the virus. Worldwide, 170 million people live with the hepatitis C virus (HCV), and every...

-Down to Earth Ministry of rural development will channelise MPs' funds through different schemes for Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to Restructure the existing Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) scheme in a holistic way. He launched the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) on Saturday, under which2,379 model villages will be developed across the country in the next five years. There are 793 Members of Parliament...

-Economic and Political Weekly The failure by the police to file a First Information Report is the subject of much debate but the Final Report by which a case is closed has received scant attention. This article reflects on the findings following a study of 100 Final Reports each under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code and the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The police's differential stance...

Documents availed through RTI reveals that the Rural Development minister Shri Nitin Gadkari has ordered to bring drastic changes in the schedule of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which includes changing the labour to material ratio and Restricting the implementation of MGNREGA in 1/3rd of backward blocks in India (please click here to access a note on labour-material ratio prepared by People's Action for Employment Guarantee-PAEG). The MoRD has notified the...