-Down to Earth Activists have been demanding that the land reforms Bill be brought in Parliament since 2012 Following a two-day protest by more than a thousand landless rural poor at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, activists claim Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured protestors that the government will bring the Bill supporting homestead land rights for them before the Parliament. Land rights activists, who met the prime minister at the...

-The Hindu Bhaurao Karhade, who considers Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali his cinematic Bible, sold five acres of farmland to make a rustic and gutsy Marathi film, Khwada. One of the important turn-of-the-century developments has been the democratisation of cinema. The steady spread of cine literacy, the strong influence of moving images combined with an easier access to technology and emerging online exhibition platforms has meant that potentially anyone who dreams of making...

-The Hindu Number of cases proportionate to women population earns it infamy For the first time in history, Delhi is officially the “rape capital” of India. Even while the pace of increase in the number of reported rapes in the city has slowed down, the number of such cases proportionate to its women population was higher than for any other city or State last year. During the past years, Delhi reported a larger...

-The Times of India LUCKNOW: Around 25,000 farmers in Mathura have sought permission from President Pranab Mukherjee to commit suicide on August 15 after a 17-year-long struggle to get compensation from the government. What looks to be a new trend, the development comes a day after 70 Vyapam scam accused lodged in Gwalior, around 175 kms from Mathura, raised a similar demand, citing judicial disparity. Demanding compensation against 700 acre of their lands...

-The Hindu Index to provide data on level of pollutants in 10 cities across India Amid growing concerns over deteriorating air quality in India's major cities, the government on Monday launched the National Air Quality Index (AQI) that will put out real time data about the level of pollutants in the air and inform people about the possible impacts on health. Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the two-day conference of Environment...