There have been reports that as many as 150 persons including children reportedly died in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh in the last year. However, Minister of State for Agriculture KV Thomas in his reply to Parliament earlier this week claimed there were no starvation deaths in the country during the last year. “No state government, Union Territory administration has reported any incidence of starvation death during last three years,” he said...

For “blatant” violation of coastal zone norms The controversial 31-storey Adarsh Housing Society in Mumbai is facing demolition, as the Union Environment Ministry issued a show-cause on Friday for “blatant” violation of coastal zone norms. The Society has two weeks to submit a written reply and a further week to meet Ministry officials and make its case. The notice asked the promoters to explain “why the unauthorised structure should not be removed forthwith.” “After...

India's Public Distribution System (PDS) has been in a bad shape for decades, often thought to be beyond repair. Recent experience, however, suggests otherwise. Political will, increased transparency and community participation have led to an amazing revival of the PDS in Chhattisgarh though the state has only shown contempt for people's rights in other contexts… Somehow, the PDS became a political priority in Chhattisgarh and a decision was made to turn...

An estimated 41 million people have been cured of tuberculosis (TB) over the past 15 years through a treatment strategy recommended by the United Nations health agency, according to a new report, but success remains fragile and governments must strengthen their determination to combat the disease. “With 1.7 million people dying from tuberculosis last year – including 380,000 women, many of whom were young mothers – these successes are far too...

Provoked by the reiteration by Supreme Court of its offer to drop the contempt charge against Prashant Bhushan if he apologised for levelling allegations of corruption against the judiciary provoked his father Shanti Bhushan on Wednesday to repeat the contemptuous charges. He would rather go to jail than seek apology, declared Bhushan senior, former Union law minister. The senior Bhushan spoke out of turn, brushing ASIde repeated requests from a Bench...