-PTI New Delhi: The Centre today asked state governments to provide home delivery of highly subsidised foodgrains to the PDS beneficiaries to avoid instances of starvation death. These were among other reforms the state governments have been asked to pursue urgently in order to strengthen the public distribution system (PDS) — also called ration shops. The matter was discussed in detail with state food ministers meeting here in the national capital. “We...

-The Hindu The judiciary doesn’t seem to fully appreciate the economic consequences of its judgments The number of legal disputes involving property, contract, labour, tax and corporate laws is bound to increase with an expanding economy. How they are adjudicated by courts not only has direct consequences for the disputants, but also shapes the behaviour of individuals and entities involved in production, commerce and banking. Judicial findings also influence decision-making of government...

-The Hindu The court-ordered clean-up in the textile town has managed to mitigate ill-effects of industrial pollution to a large extent. A similar remediation effort, involving the government and stakeholders, is needed in other parts of Tamil Nadu, where groundwater has been so contaminated that farming is not possible anymore On a sunny June morning, two men are spotted fishing close to the Orathupalayam dam in Erode district. A rather ordinary act in...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Police have arrested five activists, including an editor, a professor and a lawyer, on the suspicion of being Maoists, more than six months after an attack by alleged Hindutva groups on Ambedkarities visiting a war memorial near Pune. Those arrested have been booked under several charges, including the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. Pune police on Wednesday arrested Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP) spokesperson Rona Wilson from...

-The Times of India LUCKNOW: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognizance of media reports that a 14-year-old girl was detained at a police chowki and a police station in Noida for eight days. She was beaten, burnt with cigarettes and given electric shocks. Reportedly, the girl, a domestic help, was detained after her employer accused her of theft. The Commission has observed that the contents of the...