-The Times of India LUCKNOW: Girija devi was reduced to being an ordinary farm hand in Jalaun after the demise of her husband. As a widow, she was told she had no ownership rights to the land her family had held for many years. For years, she continued to till the land and worked on it as an agricultural labourer. Then, a local civil society organization helped her regain control over...

-Frontline Kerala is facing a situation where health care costs are leading more and more people, not just low-income families, to financial distress. KERALA is once again drawing attention to itself, this time for a persistent trend of a large number of households being pushed into financial ruin because of the expenses incurred for medical care. Several studies have now found evidence for the many facets of this worrying development in a...

-The Hindu Law is merely an instrumentality of justice, to deliver it remains in the hands of those vested with the responsibility of implementing them - the police, the courts and the lawyers. Thanks to the documentary India's Daughter by British film-maker Leslee Udwin, the subject of sexual violence and attitudes towards women in India is back in the national headlines. Over two years ago, when the rape of a 23-year-old paramedical...

-Economic and Political Weekly Since independence, India's national health policies have been aspirational but the end results have been limited. The National Health Policy 2015, which is in the process of being finalised, should, in place of the earlier "broadband" approach, adopt a "narrow focus" on primary healthcare through the National Rural Health Mission. The latter has focused on primary healthcare and has shown visible results. A slew of suggestions as...

-The Indian Express The forthcoming budget is expected by some to be make-or-break or path-breaking, by others, to provide a legislative or economic roadmap for the rest of this government's term. Most likely, it will focus on issues within the purview of the finance ministry, namely, macro management, taxation, expenditure, the financial sector and balance of payments. The abolition of the Planning Commission and the 14th Finance Commission recommendations on tax devolution...