-The Times of India MUMBAI: Bhavin Dave was married for six weeks when his wife realized she was pregnant. Both rushed to a doctor, who said the best way to deal with the unplanned pregnancy was to use a medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) drug. She prescribed the pills and that was when their ordeal began. Bhavin (name changed) scrambled from pharmacy to pharmacy with the prescription, but to no avail. He...

-The Hindu   Books will soon be procured for all the children, says district coordinator of SSA Tiruvallur: Asish Mehra sits in the front row of his class, flipping through his notebook. There is hardly any space between the Oriya letters, as if he is desperately trying to save paper. It is his only notebook, and it Turns out Asish is indeed trying to make the paper last. He is one of the many...

-Tehelka With 65 percent of the population below the age of 35, India boasts of an unparalleled generational dividend, but are we Turning this potential into a disaster? Avalok Langer spots a ticking time bomb Nutrition & Health* 40% of children in India are malnourished 43% of children in the age group of 12-23 months receive full immunisation 48%+ of children are underweight 50%+ of all deaths under age 5 are related to malnutrition 45% of children...

-The Hindu     The shortened lifespan of the quarry workers of Uttar Pradesh is spent breaking stones and residing among the pollution- laden boulders Mired with sandy roads and rocky terrain, the landscape in south-western Allahabad creates a remarkable mirage under the blue sky. Some of the larger rocks here have sizeable craters formed in them -- a sign of their depletion over time, by an activity that is hazardous yet critical to the...

-The Indian Express Alarmed by ministerial Turf wars thwarting his GoM's bid to "expedite" environment clearances and coal supply to eight power projects identified by the Prime Minister's Office, Sharad Pawar is learnt to have sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's "intervention" to ensure the GoM's decisions are "implemented in a time-bound manner". Pawar was made chairman of the GoM on environmental and developmental issues relating to coal mining and other development...