-Business Standard On life expectancy at birth, India fares marginally better than Pakistan New Delhi: Reacting to the terrorist strike at the army camp in Uri, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Pakistan to go to war against poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and infant mortality instead, saying let’s see who wins those wars. But a Business Standard examination of various Human Development indicators suggests that while currently India fares better on most key indicators,...

-The Hindu Business Line Although literacy levels are improving, there’s not enough learning happening. This calls for urgent attention This year, marks the 50th year of International Literacy Day. In 1966, UNESCO declared September 8 as International Literacy Day to “mobilize the international community and to promote literacy as an instrument to empower individuals, communities and societies”. At Independence in 1947, India had a literacy rate of 12 per cent, which stands today...

-The Hindu Conservationists blame increased human activity along habitat. Kolkata: Scientists and wildlife conservationists are seeing red over the threat posed to Gangetic river dolphins by the National Waterways project. The animal is protected under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and is a declared endangered species. The development of the Ganga for shipping is seen by wildlife conservationists as the single-largest threat to the survival of the species, whose...

-Hindustan Times Toronto: A culture of intolerance has taken root in India and grown “more menacing” since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister two years ago, according to a new report prepared jointly by a Canadian university and global writers group PEN International. India must overhaul its antiquated laws and cumbersome legal system, which are increasingly being misused to silence dissent, said the report titled “Fearful Silence: The Chill on India’s Public Sphere”. It...

-The Hindu Business Line NEW DELHI: The Ministry ?of Environment and Forest (MoEF) ?has allayed concerns cited by environmentalists that the GEAC sub-committee that studied the bio-safety of GM (genetically modified) mustard did not have any ‘health expert’ on board?.? In a statement issued on Sunday, the ?Ministry clarified that the panel “had experts in subjects relevant to safety evaluation of GE (genetically-engineered) crops. “The GEAC in its 126th meeting held on 04.01.2016,...