-The Indian Express     A degree of targeting is useful in ensuring that policies are effective in reducing poverty. But we have to be careful how this is done. With the right policies, India has a good chance of seeing accelerated poverty reduction in the coming decades. As I have previously argued, this will require that India does a better job in reaching the country's many poor people through its social policies. However,...

-PTI NEW DELHI: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday rolled out the ambitious and "game-changer" food security scheme in Delhi, Haryana and Uttarakhand after party leaders attacked Narendra Modi and the opposition for the delay in passage of the bill in Parliament. Unveiling the scheme by handing over food grain packets and Aadhar-based smart cards to 12 women beneficiaries in the capital, she lauded the UPA government for bringing "revolutionary changes" in...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Responding to growing allegations of wrongful arrests of Muslim youth in terror cases, the government is planning to provide legal assistance to those who have been jailed on prima facie "doubtful" charges. Sources in the home ministry said that officials have been asked to formulate norms for identifying those who may have been wrongly booked. The development follows the decision of the Centre to set up 39...

-The Hindu Overcoming son preference in India remains a daunting challenge as even educated women are prone to it Have women fared better than men, and girls better than boys in the last decade or so? In the din over a dramatic reduction in poverty in the period 2009/10-2011/12 that is unlikely to die down, deep questions about the discrimination and deprivation that women face from the womb to the rest of...

-The Hindu "It is time now for Vedanta to gracefully respect public sentiment and pack off its establishment" JARAPA (ODISHA): Efforts of Vedanta Aluminium Limited (VAL), belonging to London-listed Vedanta Resources Plc, to mine bauxite ore in Niyamgiri hills in Odisha received a severe blow on Monday with the 12th palli (gram) sabha also voting against mining there. This is the first time an environmental referendum is conducted on a directive by the...