-The Hindu It is shocked to hear that bodies are cut into pieces and disposed of for lack of money   The Supreme Court on Friday expressed shock at the inhuman disposal of the bodies of widows, who lived in government shelter homes at Vrindavan, by chopping them into pieces on the plea of lack of money for proper cremation. A Bench of Justices D.K. Jain and Madan B. Lokur directed the Uttar Pradesh...

-The Telegraph The Supreme Court today asked the Bengal government to take steps to arrest the migration of widows to Vrindavan. “This is human problem… a very serious problem,” Justices D.K. Jain and Madan B. Lokur told state counsel Abhijit Sengupta. “Many of the destitute are coming from your state or Odisha,” the court said. Sengupta sought time to file his reply to the suggestion. The court also directed the Uttar Pradesh government to...

-Business Today "I want it back," says Sharada Begum. The 67-year-old woman is a member of one of the 100 households of Raghubir Nagar, a resettlement colony in west Delhi, chosen to participate in a pilot scheme that aimed to turn the public distribution system (PDS) on its head. Through all of 2011, these households had Rs 1,000 transferred every month to a woman member's bank account in lieu of rice, wheat,...

Union minister for consumer affairs, food and public distribution KV Thomas tells Nitin Sethi that it makes better sense to distribute stocked foodgrain to people of the country than subsidise exports. Possible spread of drought that the government is looking at... At the moment, monsoon rainfall is 23% below the long term average. But we have to wait another 15 days to know the full situation. We had discussion in the presence...

-The Hindu Instruments that permit people to vote directly on policy and to initiate legislation can ensure that the citizen’s voice is heard   Independent India has been a large-scale experiment in democracy. Unlike many other nations that gained independence from colonial rule but descended into dictatorships and military rule, India has remained a democracy, despite its size and diversity. While we pride ourselves on this achievement, we also need to reflect more...