-The United Nations The implementation of social protection measures can play a key role in rescuing minors from occupational bondage, a new report by the United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) has found. According to the World Report on Child Labour, varying types of social protection measures such as cash transfer schemes, social health protection and providing income security in old age, can help reduce the number of children around the world...

-Outlook Development activities including thermal power projects, mining and other polluting industries should not be allowed in a 60,000 sq km ecologically sensitive "natural landscape" of Western Ghats, a mountainous range that passes through six states, a Government panel said today. In its report, the 10-member high-level working group, headed by eminent scientist K Kasturirangan, has not recommended any regulatory mechanism for the remaining 96,000 sq km area of the Western...

-The Telegraph JALNA AND AHMEDNAGAR: Sakharam Misal is frank. Water, he says, is big business. In Jalna district, which has run out of water, the man in his late 50s is among the most sought after. He runs a water tanker business and sells water to the thirsty millions. Misal's cellphone keeps ringing with desperate calls for water. His tankers are booked in advance and the waiting list stretches over a week. Drought,...

-The Hindu     Focus attention on pregnancy and first two years of child's life Stunting can be contained by focussing attention on pregnancy and the first two years of a child's life, a new UNICEF report has said. Stunting is not only about a child being too short for his or her age. It can also mean suffering from stunted development of the brain and cognitive capacity. The report offers evidence that real progress is...

-The Times of India It is universally recognised that for ensuring people's participation in governance and holistic development, the best instrumentality is local government. So when Parliament passed the 73rd Constitution Amendment Bill on December 23, 1992 to enshrine the essential features of panchayats in the Constitution, this was hailed as historic. But where do our panchayats stand 20 years after becoming institutions of self-government? A big issue before the founders of...