-Economic and Political Weekly   The manner in which the United Progressive Alliance government approved field trials of genetically engineered crops in the last few weeks of its term in office speaks poorly of its regard for the decision-making process. Shalini Bhutani (shalinibhutani@hotmail.com) is a legal researcher and policy analyst who has worked on agriculture issues. Manju Menon and Kanchi Kohli are independent researchers who have worked on environment regulation. Please click here to download the...

-Economic and Political Weekly   The Drought-Prone Areas Programme and the Desert Development Programme launched by the Government of India during the 1970s used rainfall and irrigation as the two criteria to ameliorate the impact of drought in the targeted districts. This article revisits the eligibility criteria in light of the recent climatic classification and irrigation statistics. B Venkateswarlu (vbandi_1953@yahoo.com), B M K Raju, K V Rao and C A Rama Rao are...

-Economic and Political Weekly   This article analyses the water, sanitation and hygiene situation in slum households and compares it with the non-slum urban households using data from the 2011 Census. It argues for a shift from the mere water supply coverage to an emphasis on quality water distribution. Intermittent water supply coupled with poor sanitation contributes to higher health risks. Promoting point-of-use water treatment and basic hygiene practices on safe handling...

-Economic and Political Weekly   After almost more than eight years of the Right to Information Act being in force, the process of accessing information still faces impediments. The flow of information is restricted either due to various public institutions not coming within the ambit of the Act or the information being exempt under various clauses of the Act. This article examines select judgments/orders of the Central Information Commission and the superior...

-Economic and Political Weekly     Illiteracy levels are high across all categories of disability and very high for children with visual, multiple and mental disabilities compared to national averages. Generating awareness that the disabled have full rights to appropriate education in mainstream schools and that it is the duty of those involved in administration at every level, including schools, to ensure that they have access to education is of utmost importance. Ranjita Dawn...