-The United Nations   An estimated 2,500 youth are newly infected with HIV every day, with women and adolescent girls facing a disproportionately higher risk, according to a new joint report by the United Nations and the World Bank that calls for a “chain of prevention” to protect young people. “Opportunity in Crisis: Preventing HIV from early adolescence to young adulthood” presents, for the first time, data on HIV infections among young...

As NGOs gain traction in public and policy spaces, they face increasing pressure from the political class and citizens to reveal their sources of funding, show impact of their work, and demonstrate who they represent DHAN Foundation in Madurai has had a remarkable run in the southern heartland for over a decade, focusing on livelihoods, water and food security . Its work, particularly in tank-based watershed development, is an exemplar....

This is much worse than the earlier Bill, say Kejriwal and Bhushan Government opposed to placing higher judiciary under Lokpal probe Representatives of civil society Arvind Kejriwal and advocate Prashant Bhushan on Monday accused the government of going back on its word and opposing bringing the Prime Minister under the purview of the Lokpal on the ground that it would render him dysfunctional if put under probe. “This is much worse than the...

Cash transfers are now suggested by many as a silver bullet for addressing the problems that plague India’s anti-poverty programmes. This article argues instead for evidence-based policy and informed public debate to clarify the place, prospects and problems of cash transfers in India. By drawing on key empirical findings from academic and grey literature across the world an attempt is made to draw attention to three aspects of cash transfers...

-The Business Standard   The United Action Committee (UAC), a pro-Posco outfit active in the project site of the South Korean steel major in Orissa, has formed a core committee to hold discussion with the revenue divisional commissioner (RDC), Central range, on its long pending demands related to the project. The discussion is scheduled for tomorrow and is expected to revolve around UAC’s six prominent demands regarding higher compensation to the project...