-The Times of India LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday admitted that 34 children - all below 12 years - died at the relief camps in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts between September 7 and December 20, 2013. The death toll was confirmed by the high-powered committee constituted by the government to look into the deaths of infants as reported by the media. The panel submitted its report to the government on...

-The Indian Express Section 377 reeks of the anxieties of Victorian BRItain and Puritan America. In 1982, Michael Hardwick, a gay man, was having consensual sex with a male partner in his bedroom in Atlanta, Georgia. Police officer Keith Torick entered the apartment with a warrant (for public drinking) that had been invalid for three weeks. Admitted by Hardwick's housemate, he went straight to the bedroom. Seeing the men, he announced that...

-The Business Standard Deadline extended by three months to March 31 for submitting report After a push from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), a committee headed by Planning Commission member Saumitra Chaudhuri seems to be giving its full attention in moving towards Producers Price Index (PPI) that will give accurate calculation of movement of inflation. To help the panel finish its task, the government has extended its deadline by...

-The Hindu On the day that Veerappa Moily took over reins, the Environment Ministry eased environmental clearance norms for select industries, including BRIck kiln owners and river sand miners. On December 24, the Ministry took a decision to exempt a slew of different types of industrial and mining projects from either providing environmental impact assessment reports or holding public hearings when they are approved by the state government. Categorising these set of...

-The Business Standard A quick recap of the intensely fractured debate on GM crops and what the pro & anti arguments are. After nearly a decade of opposition, Environment Minister Veerappa Moily is finally expected to rule in favour of the contentious GM or genetically modified food crops in India. The Economic Times reports that this will "pave the way for the government to submit an affidavit in the Supreme Court agreeing...