-Livemint.com Karin Hulshof says from being primarily funded by govts of the developed world, Unicef in India is now increasingly funded by private companies Devolution of higher funds to states in India is leading to decentralisation of programmes undertaken by the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef), said Karin Hulshof, Unicef’s regional director for South Asia, during a three-day viSIT to Odisha. The agency is engaging more with state governments than...

-The Hindu The Aadhaar Bill has been passed with no public consultation about the privacy safeguards necessary for such a database and no provision for public or independent oversight. The rights to liberty and freedom of expression cannot survive if the right to privacy is compromised. The Central government has forced the Aadhaar Bill through Parliament in a week. Aadhaar has had an invasive and controversial presence well before the government’s attempt...

-Business Standard - Capital Market Unseasonal rains accompanied by hailstorms are creating havoc for Indian farmers year after year even as the country faces shortfall in wheat production by around 13 million tonnes from the initial estimates of 93.8 million tonnes in the current crop year and the development may force the government to consider imports of the staple grain as well, according to an ASSOCHAM paper. "The shortfall in production...

-The Hindu Anthropologists study how local populations network in different parts of the globe Love it, or hate it, it is rare that you will ignore social media. A few anthropologists from across the world took this seriously enough to conduct an eight-country in-depth analysis on how local populations behave and interact across social media and how these platforms are impacting the way we live life. “Why we Post” is the culmination of...

-The Indian Express The process of return of the bill saw an animated debate over why it was brought as a money bill. Since it was a money Bill, it could not be rejected or amended by Rajya Sabha Hours after the OppoSITion, making most of the NDA’s lack of numbers in Rajya Sabha, pushed through five amendments and returned the Aadhaar Bill to Lok Sabha, the Lower House rejected the changes...