-The Indian Express Government must ensure the disabilities law reaches out to the most needy The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, (PWDA) completed two decades of existence this month. However, the majority of disabled people is yet to avail the entitlements envisaged under the law. Inaccessible public places, non-accommodative educational institutions and the lack of employment opportunities for the disabled are widespread. Under Section...

-Outlook Recent studies point to two areas where NREGS has had an impact — rural education and Naxalite conflict. "Economics is haunted by more fallacies than any other study known to man."  This rather depressing assessment of the field is the opening sentence of Henry Hazlitt's classic primer, Economics in one lesson. In Hazlitt's view, most economists only measure the immediate impact of their policies. A good economist, Hazlitt contended, looks not merely...

-Livemint.com What’s essential for the unique identification number to continue is a strong law. But what should it look like? A key thrust of the 2012 writ petition filed in the Aadhaar case (Puttaswamy versus Union of India) was that the executive action in implementing Aadhaar was unconstitutional in the absence of a law. Later developments in the case, including the government’s argument that there is no fundamental right to privacy, and...

-Newslaundry.com/Factly.in A district consumer forum in Delhi has directed Emami to pay Rs 15 lakh as damages. There is no dearth of fairness creams in the market. From promising fairness in a few days to a few weeks, these products are promoted by the icons of the film industry. A multibillion dollar industry that was once the preserve of only metros has now reached every nook and corner of the country. Emami’s...

-The Hindustan Times The stereotype of a reporter landing in a new city and then getting political insights from the taxi driver on the way from the airport is not without merit. For a visitor, the first encounter is with the cabbie, and cabbies, as assumed, have not just local knowledge, but much wisdom too. A cabbie’s views often get extrapolated and incorporated into much of the reporting. As true as this...