-Live Mint Move may help the Congress renew its appeal to a traditional constituency; activists raise objections In yet another move that the ruling Congress Party hopes will help renew its appeal to a traditional constituency, the ministry of rural development has indicated it is likely to accept the recommendations of a panel that has suggested the universalization of pensions. The task force headed by Planning Commission member Mihir Shah was set up...

-The Hindustan Times Indore: After Jal Satyagraha (insistence on truth with water) and hunger strike, scores of striking adhyapaks (teachers having non-permanent jobs) in Shajapur district climbed on trees and raised slogans against the Madhya Pradesh government for not fulfilling its promises. Earlier, on Saturday over 25 teachers sat on a Jal Satyagraha to press their demands for ‘equal work, equal pay’ as well as all the benefits that their regular counterparts...

-The Times of India PATNA: Bihar human rights commission (BHRC) has issued notices to state DGP Abhayanand and Nawada district SP Lalan Mohan Prasad, seeking their response within two weeks on two news reports which "reveal a concerted attempt on the part of Nawada police to undermine the dignity of a lawyer and the primacy of the judiciary" and "to muzzle the press for bringing the matter in public domain". Taking suo...

-The Hindu Mr. Chidambaram has sought to blame the Army for the failure to repeal the draconian Act but the government is equally guilty as it has abdicated responsibility in the matter At an institute that is virtually owned, funded and run by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram did the unthinkable the other day. He virtually attacked the Army for refusing to review and amend the draconian...

-The Hindu Land acquisition for the proposed steel project of Posco at Gobindpur village in Jagatsinghpur district of Odisha was halted and police force withdrawn from the locality on Wednesday following stiff opposition from the locals, particularly women and children. The land acquisition exercise that was resumed after a long gap on Sunday came to a halt after hundreds of agitating villagers and leaders of different Opposition parties reached the spot where...