-The Telegraph Environmental Activists have criticized the outcome of the recently concluded Rio+20 summit as insubstantial. They are not wrong, but they have missed the main point. There was a very real danger that, far from registering progress, the summit would actually mark a giant step backwards for sustainable development. Rich and powerful countries made a concerted attempt to actually undo and reverse the advances that were achieved 20 years ago...

-The Hindu The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sought a report from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on the Centre’s reported plans of using psychiatrists to counsel Activists protesting against the 1,000 MW Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu. The NHRC termed it “a check on the freedom of speech/expression.” Asking the MHA to submit its report by July 25, the NHRC’s Law Division, acting on a complaint of...

-The Times of India LUCKNOW: RTI Activists from all over the state have come together to highlight the plight of the RTI users and the failure of the RTI infrastructure in Uttar Pradesh. The Activists have launched a signature campaign to mop up public opinion on the half-hearted implementation of the Act in the state. The campaign which was launched on Monday has got more than 100 signatures of RTI users from...

Census 2011 data bring into the open Maharashtra’s terrible record in sex-selective abortions. In early June, Vijaymala Patekar, a mother of four girls, haemorrhaged to death at a hospital in Parli, Beed district, Maharashtra. She was reportedly in her second trimester of pregnancy. Her family had allegedly forced her to abort the foetus when they learnt it was a girl child. Sudam Munde, the doctor who performed the procedure, fled Parli but...

ASHAs will continue to bear the burden of the government's rural health mission as a new order lists more incentive-based services. On May 31, a Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare order listed additional incentivised duties for accredited social health Activists, or ASHAs, but was silent on the issue of regularisation of their employment. ASHAs, who bridge the gap between the rural population and the nearest health care outlets under...