-The Hindu The launch of the Jan Soochna Portal in Rajasthan is a vital cog in access to the right to information The Jan Soochna Portal (JSP) launched by the government of Rajasthan yesterday is a remarkable achievement in furtherance of the right to information (RTI) — especially Section 4 of the RTI Act — that deals with proactive disclosure of information. Transparency must be accompanied by accountability, and that is where...

-The Hindu The Supreme Court has agreed to examine a plea that starvation deaths continue to eat into the right to life and dignity of social fabric and a “radical” new measure like community kitchens need to be set up across the country to feed the poor and the hungry. A Bench led by Justice N.V. Ramana issued notice on Monday to the government on the petition filed jointly by activists Anun...

-The Hindu The world sits up and takes notice when surplus food feeds the hungry, instead of ending up in the bin, say volunteers of No Food Waste How often do we think of surplus food that has gone untouched at a wedding banquet, restaurant or office canteen. What happens to the leftovers? Coimbatore resident G Padmanabhan and his friends Sudhakar Mohan and N Balaji began No Food Waste (NFW) in 2014 with...

-The Hindu Disturbing a federal system that protects the complexity of human identities could pave the way for conflict It is sometimes claimed that once ordinary people benefit from economic development, they automatically set aside issues related to their identity. Such a view was found not only in materialist theories that gave explanatory primacy in human life to economic factors but also among leaders of social and political movements. Nehru, for instance,...

-The Telegraph Kerala surpassed other states in access to good healthcare, nutrition and quality education New Delhi: A report on child well-being in India rated Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh as the best states. The report released last week covered most of the major aspects of child well-being, health, nutrition, education and protection. The India Child Well-Being report by World Vision India, a humanitarian organisation, and IFMR LEAD, a non-profit research organisation,...