-The Hindu The new Bill should pitch for free care to mental health patients in public hospitals. Persons with mental illness have long been subjected to cruelty, neglect, ridicule and stigma. In the last half-century, medical science has made significant strides in finding some cures and palliatives for afflictions of the mind – of emotion, mood, thinking and behaviour. Parallel to this is the evolution in our ethical frameworks: of human Rights,...

-The Hindu Patiala (Punjab): It is an illegal but accepted practice here to employ agricultural labourers and their family against a loan The blaring gurdwara loudspeakers at Punjab’s Gandav village confirmed the worst fears of Jasbir Kaur. They were announcing that the recently-widowed young woman would lose the one-room shed she calls home if she was unable to pay back the Rs. 80,000 her husband had borrowed from the village landowner. With...

-Outlook Corruption is not just an offence but also undermines others human Rights leading to systematic economic crimes, the Supreme Court today held. The apex court said a public servant, who is found guilty of corruption, has to be treated as corrupt until he is exonerated by a superior court. "Corruption is not only a punishable offence but also undermines human Rights, indirectly violating them, and systematic corruption, is a human Rights' violation...

-The Times of India The Election Commission (EC) has asked the Union home ministry to probe the alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) by both the Congress and the BJP by receiving donations of about Rs 5 crore each from Vedanta Group subsidiaries — Sterlite Industries and Sesa Goa. Nirvachan Sadan sources told TOI that the Representation of People Act (RPA) debarred political parties from receiving contribution for a...

-PTI Melbourne: India has been ranked at a poor 115 by a global survey which looked into the level of economical empowerment of women in 128 countries.  The list was topped by Australia and followed by three Scandinavian countries -- Norway, Sweden and Finland.  At the bottom of the list were Yemen, Pakistan, Sudan and Chad.  The research done by an international consulting and management firm Booz & Company ranked India at 115 and...