-Reuters KHAMMAM (India): It was a deal struck almost 40 years ago by a poor, illiterate Indian farmer, driven by desperation after a drought wiped out his crops and left his family close to starvation. The agreement: 10 acres of land, the size of four soccer pitches, for a mere 10 kg (22 lbs) of sorghum grains. "My father-in-law pawned the land for food," said Kowasalya Thati, lifting the hem of...

-The Economic Times   A Bill seeking to make 'irretrievable breakdown of marriage' as a ground for divorce appeared to be in trouble with MPs from within the ruling side as well as the Opposition attacking the changes.  The Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, which was taken up passage in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, was seen to be loaded against women by a significant section of the House. In the face of concerns...

-Express News Service Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal on Tuesday said that a national-level task force would be set up to frame guidelines to protect the interest of severely disabled children. Disability activists had last week raised objections to a clause in the Right to Education Act that gives the option of home-based schooling for children with severe disabilities. In a meeting with activists on Tuesday, Sibal assured that all...

Reluctance to make reports public could erode public confidence in government’s decisions, says CIC The Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed India’s nuclear power plant operator to publicize safety analysis reports of the Kudankulam atomic power plant within a month. In a contentious two-year dispute between environmentalists and the nuclear power establishment, the apex information commission, in an order on its website, has said that the reluctance to make the reports public...

-The Hindu The All India Democratic Women's Association has expressed unhappiness over the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010 and the amendments made to it, as reintroduced in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, that make irretrievable breakdown of marriage a ground for divorce, giving women the right to marital assets, including the marital home. However, there is no provision for strengthening maintenance laws. In its letter, the AIDWA has appealed to Rajya Sabha...