India has persisted in retaining the death penalty, notwithstanding the fact that 139 countries across the world have already abolished it while 150 others have put a moratorium on it. The United Nations passed a resolution on September 20, 2010, appealing to all nations to observe a moratorium on the death penalty if they are not agreeable to passing a legislation abolishing it. That formidable opposition to the death penalty seemed...

A problem of plenty is looming as by June 1, an estimated 12 million tonnes of foodgrain will have to be stored in the open in "kutcha plinths" with a bountiful Rabi harvest and procurement of 65 million tonnes of grain boosting food stocks to record levels. With states like Madhya Pradesh - apart from the wheat baskets of Punjab and Haryana - delivering bonus yields, food stocks are expected to...

-The Hindu   The Centre's move to introduce an experimental universal health package in at least one district per State under the National Rural Health Mission, with access to free generic drugs, is a welcome measure. But the larger mission to provide free essential medicines to all citizens need not await the results of such pilot studies. It should be rolled out for poor and non-poor alike quickly. There is no time...

Even as the debate rages on whether poverty measurement in India is accurate, a recent report on nutritional intake of Indians has come up with a chilling conclusion: two thirds of the country's population is eating less than what is required.    Even more worrying is that this trend continues despite a healthy economic growth rate over several years, and despite several mega programmes of nutrition delivery to children. Experts believe that...

Little seems to have changed in the city since the Right to Education was implemented exactly two years ago. A large number of schools still lack basic facilities promised under the new constitutional right. A study by Delhi RTE Forum-an umbrella body of 20 non-profit organizations-says denial of admission and absence of basic facilities in schools pose a hurdle in proper implementation of the RTE. The forum had Surveyed 207...