In the month of June this year, encephalitis related deaths in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district grabbed the headlines. Actually, most of the children, who were admitted or died at Shri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH), hailed from East Champaran, Vaishali, Sitamarhi and Samastipur apart from Muzaffarpur. Unfortunately, till recently official data on the number of cases and deaths related to Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) was unavailable for...

-The Telegraph The troubles of the tanning industry are many. From Kanpur to Calcutta, it has turned into one big leather-hunt In May 2018, the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government announced that tanneries in Jajmau in Kanpur would close down for three months between December and March during the Kumbh Mela. Reason: to keep the river waters clean during the Hindu festival wherein millions of pilgrims take a dip at the confluence of...

-The Indian Express The Rajasthan Protection from Lynching Bill, 2019 makes mob lynching a cognisable, non-bailable and non-compoundable offence punishable with life imprisonment and a fine up to Rs 5 lakh. Bhopal, Jaipur: On Monday, the Rajasthan Assembly passed a new law against mob lynching. Another Congress government, in Madhya Pradesh, recently introduced a Bill that seeks to curb cow vigilantism. The State Law Commission in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, meanwhile, has...

-The Hindu Where does Jammu and Kashmir stand in comparison to other States in key indicators of growth and development Union Home Minister Amit Shah has linked poor healthcare, poverty, lack of doctors and slow economic growth in Jammu and Kashmir to amendment to Article 370. However, a look at how the State, now bifurcated into Union Territories, compares with other States in key indicators suggests that these concerns are exaggerated. Life expectancy Jammu...

-The Hindu Many of them are understaffed and under-resourced Fast-track courts are in the limelight yet again. Smriti Irani, Minister for Women and Child Development, informed the Rajya Sabha that the government has proposed to set up 1,023 fast-track courts to clear the cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. A few weeks ago, the Supreme Court in a suo motu petition had issued directions, stating that districts...