-Live Mint   Rights laws offer an important lesson for the new government: you cannot legislate your way out of state failure It is well known that the Indian state suffers from a serious crisis of implementation capability. So deep is this crisis that it cannot even reliably perform the most routine tasks like moving money and getting employees to show up at work. So, it is hardly surprising that rights laws have...

-The Hindu Talking openly about menstruation is the only way to transform the lives of girls and women. Barriers to women's achievement are falling in every sphere. Women lead countries, corporations, and households. Globally, more girls are entering school, earning family income, and participating in public life. But one big taboo stands in the way of women's full equality: safe, hygienic and private menstruation. For most women in wealthy countries, menstruation is...

-Responding to Climate Change Forthcoming UN study could reveal median crop yields may fall by up to 2% per decade for the rest of century Scientists are gradually narrowing uncertainty over the impact of climate change on food production, pointing towards a more pessimistic picture. The degree to which people can adapt to climate change is part of a wider debate about the urgency of cutting carbon emissions. Adaptation is especially relevant to agriculture,...

-The Hindu The entire spectrum of political leadership should take a pledge to transform the healthcare system of India in a decade As the countdown to the next general election begins, political parties are making multiple promises to pull in votes. All the party leaders are committing to transforming the lives of people. But health, ironically, does not feature high on their priority list, even though it is the central pillar of...

-The Telegraph The Union human resource development ministry will tell the Supreme Court that private coaching institutions do not come under its jurisdiction and it cannot regulate their activities. In response to a notice issued by the apex court on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the Students Federation of India, the students' wing of the CPM, the ministry is expected to make a distinction between private coaching and educational programmes...