-The Hindu Handlooms are the one area where India leads the world in skill, creativity and expertise. The Handloom Reservation Act must be strengthened, not repealed Last month, Gajendra Singh, a farmer, hanged himself in New Delhi. His death attracted massive attention as it happened so publicly, in front of the hundreds of people gathered there for Aam Aadmi Party’s rally against the Land Acquisition Bill. Such attention is rare, given that...

-The Telegraph Bangalore: Six years ago, a 16-year-old Revanna M had missed a chance to travel to France for football training because, as an orphan, he didn't have the documents to obtain a passport. Memories of that heartbreak returned to haunt him last summer when he was chosen by an NGO as one of six underprivileged youths to visit Brazil during the football World Cup. Again, a passport seemed elusive for Revanna,...

-Economic and Political Weekly Direct benefi t transfers in the form of cash cannot replace the supply of food through the public distribution system. Though it is claimed otherwise, DBT does not address the problems of identifying the poor ("targeting") and DBT in place of the PDS will expose the vulnerable to additional price fluctuation. Further, if the PDS is dismantled, there will also be no need or incentive for procurement...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday slammed the Centre for being insensitive towards protection of child rights and for its reluctance to take effective steps to recover missing children. It also criticized the government for falling foul of the law by its inability to set up an advisory board under the Juvenile Justice Act in the last 15 years. With around 15 children disappearing every hour in...

-The Times of India LONDON: UNESCO to ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi to introduce a spate of formal and non-formal programmes "to change the mind set of men" in India in order to reduce rapes in the country. In an exclusive interview with TOI, UNESCO's director general Bokova said "India needs to work with boys and use them as advocates of gender equality." "We need a strong political leadership in India for the...