-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Contrary to an assessment by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) that communal incidents in India witnessed a rising trend in 2014, official data released by the home ministry showed that such attacks were down to 644 from 823 in 2013. Also, the US panel's claim in its 2015 report that religiously-motivated and communal violence in India had increased over three consecutive years...

-International Institute for Environment and Development Blog In India, slum and pavement dwellers' organisations have designed and managed a programme of community toilets and washing facilities that are used by hundreds of thousands of households. Guest blogger Sheela Patel describes how this was achieved. Ongoing monitoring of communal toilets has helped to improve design: here, smaller toilets for children are included in adult toilet blocks. Previously children's facilities were in separate buildings...

-The Indian Express Niggling procedural hassles stymie efforts to modernise antiquated labour regulations.   As it completes one year in office, the NDA government seems to have finally bit the bullet and taken up the controversial Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, for amendments that would allow easier retrenchment and closure norms for firms with up to 300 workers though ensuring that the employees get higher compensation in return. The draft code on industrial relations has...

-The Hindu Handlooms are the one area where India leads the world in skill, creativity and expertise. The Handloom Reservation Act must be strengthened, not repealed Last month, Gajendra Singh, a farmer, hanged himself in New Delhi. His death attracted massive attention as it happened so publicly, in front of the hundreds of people gathered there for Aam Aadmi Party’s rally against the Land Acquisition Bill. Such attention is rare, given that...

-The Hindu SRIKAKULAM: Mushroom cultivation is helping many unemployed youth and tribal farmers to get decent livelihood with less investment in Srikakulam district. Women groups have joined them in learning cultivation techniques thanks to huge demand for mushrooms in Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has been conducting a series of training programmes with the support of various non governmental organisations including BREDS and ARTS...