-Tehelka Lack of toilets is forcing girls to drop out of schools in Chhattisgarh Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day speech impressed many, but for some, his statement that most schools in India do not have toilets served as a painful reminder of harsh realities. "I felt as if the prime minister was talking about me," says Sunita*, 13, who lives in Dhamtari district of Chhattisgarh. "No one understands what girls here...

-The Hindu Just 2.3 per cent of rape was by men other than the husba Husbands commit a majority of acts of sexual violence in India, and just one per cent of marital rapes and six per cent of rapes by men other than husbands are reported to the police, new estimates show. In keeping with the widely held belief among women's rights activists in India that sexual violence is grossly under-reported, social...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: As part of the Centre's grand plan to convert the hilly areas of the country as exclusive zones of high-value organic farm products, the government on Saturday launched a scheme to encourage farmers in J&K to cultivate scientifically tested and commercially beneficial aromatic and medicinal plants in the state. Under the scheme -- known as 'Jammu Kashmir Arogya Gram Yojna' - the government's key R&D body...

-Outlook In addition to amending the Rules of the Forest Rights Act, greater attention needs to be paid to changing the Land Acquisition Act   There is no explicit provision in the Forest Rights Act, 2006 for obtaining permission of the Gram Sabha for diversion of forest lands to non-forest purposes. However, Section 4(5) of the Act prevents government to evict any forest dweller unless the recognition process as provided in the...

-PTI In August last year, Parliament was informed that Maharashtra had witnessed 37 farmer suicides due to agrarian reasons The number of farmer suicides in Maharashtra is higher compared to other states in the country, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said today. "As compared to other states, farmers suicides are maximum in Maharashtra," Singh said without disclosing the details, on the sidelines of a book launch here. Asked about the reasons for growing...