-Tehelka The report also says that the reason behind these ailments is mostly centred around the conditions in which these workers do their jobs. According to report published by ASSOCHAM, an alarming 76% of e-waste workers suffer from respiratory ailments like breathing problems, irritation, coughing, chocking and tremors. The report also says that the reason behind these ailments is mostly centred around the conditions in which these workers do their jobs. All recyclers...

-The New Indian Express KOTTAYAM: There is a sharp decline in money-borrowing from local money lenders and private lending institutions in Ernakulam since the commencement of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), says a study conducted by the School of International Relations and Politics (SIRP) at the Mahatma Gandhi University here. The MGNREG scheme has made headway in Ernakulam district, stresses the Impact Assessment Study conducted by the SIRP...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government has moved a proposal for complete ban on child labour up to 14 years with the caveat that employment will only be allowed in family enterprises after school hours even as child rights activists have opposed the move. The labour ministry has sought Cabinet approval for an amendment to the Child Labour Prohibition Act which will allow children below the age of 14 to...

-The Indian Express As the toll of human misery and suicide mounts, official estimates of farm losses due to unseasonal rains and hailstorms in March remain controversial, with hasty downward revision. Since these estimates are largely notional, without validation from field visits, such revision smacks of deliberate fiddling. On March 24, the agriculture ministry reported that crops on 18 million hectares — about 30 per cent of the rabi crops —...

-The Indian Express Delhi’s slums house people whose work makes the lives of its better-off citizens easier but they themselves offer the worst of living conditions. Lakhs of people are denied the basic need for a toilet, breeding indignity and infections. The city’ urban shelter agency DUSIB’s report on how to make the city slum-free is a challenge for any government, especially one elected on a pro-poor agenda. The Indian Express...