-The Business Standard Chhattisgarh proves no cash transfer or UID is needed to make PDS work Viewed from a ration shop in Surguja in the largely poor tribal north of Chhattisgarh, the arguments for and against the food security Bill seem way off the mark. We had travelled there to see first-hand Chhattisgarh's much-celebrated transformation of its broken, corrupt public distribution system (a recent survey found that wastage of PDS grain dropped...

-PTI A top UN official has said that the violence against women is the "most pervasive" expression of gender-based discrimination and it remains unacceptably widespread. United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said, "Violence against women is the most pervasive expression of gender-based discrimination." She was speaking at the UN Human Rights Council during its annual full-day discussion on women's rights on Wednesday. "International developments have been mirrored by efforts at the national...

-Frontline Despite the negative observations and criticisms, there is a strong case for MGNREGS works to be continued even in States with high per capita incomes. Hisar and Fatehabad: CONTRARY to general opinion, demand for work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is high in Haryana. Contrary also to the views in recent discussion papers, one of them commissioned by the Commission for Agricultural Cost and Prices...

-The Times of India   NEW DELHI: Former chief election commissioner N Gopalaswamy and ex-Admirals R H Tahiliani and L Ramdas along with six other eminent persons on Monday petitioned the Supreme Court challenging appointment of former defence secretary Sashi Kant Sharma as the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). This is the second PIL within a fortnight, and follows one filed by advocate M L Sharma, who, too, had challenged the discretion vested...

-Tehelka.com There are few figures from the adivasi community in India who have made a bigger dent in the collective imagination of the country than Dayamani Barla. The "iron lady of Jharkhand" has been instrumental in articulating adivasi struggles against displacement and deprivation on national and international platforms. Dayamani, who was recently imprisoned in Jharkhand for her involvement in the Nagri people's movement, has won the first Ellen L Lutz Indigenous...