The Kerala Women’s Commission has proposed raising the minimum marriage age for women from 18 to 25 years to check rising divorces. Panel chairperson D. Sreedevi said in Kochi yesterday that those seeking to marry should reach a reasonable level of maturity and economic self-reliance to support a family. Otherwise, even the slightest setbacks to family life would lead to early break-ups. Last year, the women’s commission received more than 10,000 applications...

Malnutrition or due to socio-economic reasons and backwardness? Ninety-eight children under six died of various causes in Maharashtra's Melghat region in September alone. While confirming this, Amravati district health officer S.K. Yelurkar told The Hindu that there was no outbreak of any illness and the deaths were due to “routine socio-economic reasons and the backwardness of the region.” The forested region, comprising Dharni and Chikhaldara taluks, is largely inhabited by Korku Adivasis...

If Haryana were a country, it would be fifth on the gold medal winners’ list at Delhi 2010 — after Australia, England, Canada and India-minus-Haryana. Fifteen of India’s 38 gold at the Commonwealth Games — nearly 40 per cent of the country’s best-ever haul — have been won by athletes from Haryana. For perspective, Haryana has 2 per cent of the country’s population and occupies 1.37 per cent of its land...

While promising to release a sum of Rs 500 crore to keep the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) running in West Bengal at the earliest, the team from the Union rural development ministry that met the state panchayat minister today forced the state to frame a policy before disbursing further allotment to the districts under the scheme. The Central team, led by its joint secretary, Mrs Amita Sharma,...

The Aadhaar or UID project has grave implications for every Indian. It will enable the government to profile every citizen and track their movements and transactions. There is no guarantee that intimate personal information -- pre-existing illnesses, romantic relationships etc -- won't be shared with other agencies, warns Praful Bidwai. An elaborate charade has begun with the rolling out of the first Aadhaar unique identity numbers in a tribal district of Maharashtra by...