-The Hindu Growing number believe that the BJP is better at handling corruption Two out of three people feel that the UPA-2 is corrupt and that corruption has increased over the last four years, while a growing number believe that the BJP is better at handling corruption than the UPA, according to the CSDS poll. Even though corruption is only the fifth most important issue for voters in the 2014 elections, according to...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: The government is giving a fresh push to its flagship rural employment scheme ahead of the general elections, providing additional funds to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha. To begin with, the rural development ministry will pump in 200 crore each year, a senior official told ET, adding that these states have been chosen because half of their population is below poverty line and they have not...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: A scientific panel has identified flaws in India's existing regulatory system that governs genetically modified (GM) crops and called for an indefinite moratorium on trials of GM food crops until the regulatory system is fixed. The regulatory system, which the Indian government has used to process dossiers of several GM crops, has "major gaps" and will require "rethinking, investment, and relearning to fix," a technical expert committee (TEC)...

-Live Mint We need to further strengthen and resource the mid-day meal scheme, and not consider its curtailment or dilution The bone-chilling tragedy of 22 children dying in Chhapra in rural Bihar after having their mid-day meal at a government school has rightly shaken the public conscience. But we should resist the temptation of simplistic knee-jerk conclusions, or from attributing blame to the local officials alone or to the state administration....

-PTI The Supreme Court on Monday paved the way for the Centre to enforce rules on advertisement of tobacco products at their sale outlets that prohibits display of ads larger than 60 cm x 45 cm at shops. The court also slammed the central government for "conniving" with the tobacco lobby when people are daily dying of cancer. A Bench headed by Justice G S Singhvi quashed the interim order of the Bombay...