-Down to Earth Report lacks region specific-information; methodology used is questionable, say experts in India A recent World Bank report recommending reduction of common pollutants like soot or black carbon and methane in the Himalayan region to slow global warming has drawn severe criticism from Indian scientists. Reducing eMISsions of black carbon and methane can not only save lives by reducing air pollutants in atmosphere but also bring down ice melt which is...

-The Hindu     The critical issue in India, where the pentavalent vaccine is being rolled out, is raising the coverage levels of immunisation "Immunisation is not an election issue. It should be." Seth Berkley, CEO, GAVI Alliance, is not known for mincing his words. Throw in the immense experience he brings in from the area of vaccination, and he is easily the most articulate global proponent of immunisation. In India recently to meet...

-The Hindu Business school grad Ridhima Parvathaneni has put up a fight against numbers; numbers that indicate the alarming rate of malnutrition Despite shuttling between two states, Ridhima ensures that she wraps up work by Saturday night in order to let her hair down on Sunday. During the week, 22-year-old Satya Ridhima Parvathaneni is preoccupied with something unusual for a ‘work hard, party hard' youngster - a dream to reduce the number...

-The Hindustan Times Indore/ Alirajpur (Madhya Pradesh): The fist is not always the manifestation of fury. In a remote village of Madhya Pradesh's Alirajpur district, it is the symbol of compassion and the desire to help the needy. In a dual fight against hunger and unscrupulous moneylenders, a group of women of Sakdi village in Sondwa block -- 250 kms west of Indore - collect fistfuls of grain in every meeting...

-Kafila.org The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill was meant to be an enactment to codify India's obligations under the UNCRPD, which it ratified without reservations. There was a Committee set up in 2009 by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, headed by Smt. Sudha Kaul, to draft a Bill to this effect. Like the UNCRPD says, the Committee included different people with disabilities - across disabilities - to draft...