-The Times of India It would be fair to the impoverished tribals of Attapadi if both chief minister Oommen Chandy and CM-in-waiting Pinarayi Vijayan get their acts right before politicizing the tribal issue and blaming Prime Minster Narendra Modi for 'insulting the people of Kerala.' A detailed study done by research scholars of Chittur College, Palakkad - analyzing the livelihood status of tribes in Attapadi block revealed that the Human Development...

-PTI Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have reported the most number of districts, 50 and 46 respectively, affected due to water shortage New Delhi: Over 300 districts in 13 states of the country, including Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, are facing shortage of drinking water, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Monday. “...as reported by the states, 308 districts are affected in respect of shortage of drinking water supply in...

-Livemint.com Ministries handling drinking water and Sanitation, rural development, land resources, and urban development asked to take up an integrated action plan New Delhi: Streamlining measures to tackle the drought in the country, the centre directed on Monday different ministries to release additional funds to states. Cabinet secretary P.K. Sinha directed the ministries—drinking water and Sanitation, rural development, land resources and urban development—to take up an integrated action plan for optimally using...

-The Hindu Jharkhand has lowest percentage of households with toilets while Sikkim has the most More than half the rural population of the country still opts for open defecation, says the recently released Swachhta Status Report by the National Sample Survey (NSS) Office. The nation-wide rapid survey was conducted during May-June 2015, concurrently with the 72nd round of the NSS. The survey was to track the government’s flagship programme, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan....

-The Hindu Business Line The priority for this government is to promote the medical care market, not ensure universal healthcare for the majority Those at the helm of policymaking in the country have been, for some time, strongly advocating austerity as the principle for public expenditure policies, particularly for the social sectors. Arvind Panagariya, the vice-chairperson of the NITI Aayog, suggests that “for just three-quarters of a per cent of the GDP”, 0.76...