-The Hindu Rohtak: Even as the government scrambles to assuage angry crowds protesting against the gang-rape of a girl in New Delhi, it continues to sit on a draft scheme submitted by the National Commission for Women (NCW) in 2010 that seeks to provide financial assistance and support services to rape victims. The scheme, which has also been circulated to the States for them to implement on their own, is bogged down...

-PTI Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Friday termed the "horrific assault" on the 23-year-old girl as "most painful" incident for her since she assumed the top post in the capital and said she personally favoured death penalty for rapists. She said she hated Delhi being called "rape capital" of India and stressed that "something concrete" must be done to instill confidence among women in the city against the growing fear of...

-Outlook Gutka lobby protests stick’s escape Law On Their Side The tobacco industry has enough clout and money to secure the support of top politicians-cum-lawyers in courts:     Arun Jaitley: ITC, market leader in cigarettes     Ram Jethmalani and Abhishek Manu Singhvi: Dharampal Satyapal Ltd     Kapil Sibal: Dhariwal industries *** Just about two months back, newspaper readers were taken aback by a series of front-page ads, one of which stated how 14 states had had banned...

-The Hindu Centre buoyed by pilot scheme’s success Encouraged by the response to its pilot scheme on home delivery of contraceptives by women health workers, the Centre has decided to extend the programme across the country with immediate effect. The initiative of supplying contraceptives — condoms, oral contraceptive pills (OCP) and emergency contraceptive pills — at home by accredited social health activists (ASHAs) was launched on a pilot basis in 233 districts in...

-The Hindu The Direct Benefits Transfer Initiative is the real tool against corruption that will ensure that the welfare state doesn’t degenerate into a farewell state We are grateful to Narendar Pani (Editorial page, “Cashing in on schemes for poor,” November 29, 2012) and Bharat Bhatti and Madhulika Khanna (Editorial page, “Neither effective nor equitable,” December 4, 2012) for starting a useful debate on the United Progressive Alliance government’s Direct Benefits Transfer...