-Hindustan Times A dominant feature of the first year of Narendra Modi's leadership is the quiet dismantling of India's imperfectly realised framework of welfare and rights, covertly, by stealth.   A declared pro-corporate agenda, such as the land acquisition ordinance, proved politically messy and costly. Therefore, the government resorted instead for an enfeebling of the welfare architecture of the country through a combination of fiscal withdrawals, ignoring even legally mandated obligations.   But this attracted...

-Hindustan Times They are called cafeteria sessions. At lunch time, Greenpeace fund-raisers wander among hundreds, sometimes thousands, of young men and women packing the cafeterias of Indian companies. It’s not a good idea to name these companies. Greenpeace’s activities include forest preservation, renewable-energy promotion and fighting on behalf of local communities. These appear to be popular causes among young professionals. Donations of Rs 300 to Rs 500 constitute about 80% of...

-The Telegraph Jaipur: Before the cash flows, check the flush. The BJP-ruled state has linked hikes for rural staff and loans for poor farmers to having "functioning toilets" at home, with a senior official claiming the move is a first in the country. The order was issued yesterday and covers all government employees, including non-gazetted ranks like clerks, accountants, secretarial hands and anganwadi workers - who provide basic healthcare to mothers and toddlers...

-The Hindu The Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana was introduced to provide partial wage compensation during pregnancy, but various issues plague its implementation The latest official figures indicate that India is well short of meeting the Millennium Development Goals that pledged to reduce the country's maternal mortality ratio (MMR) by three quarters and the infant mortality rate (IMR) by two-thirds. The Sample Registration System (SRS), 2013, records MMR at 167 per 1,00,000...

-The Times of India It has become fashionable to announce the setting up of new AIIMS or AIIMS-like institutes in every annual union budget. After the first six were announced in 2006, finance minister Arun Jaitley announced the setting up of four more in the last budget and another six in the current one, taking the total number to 16, not counting the original one in Delhi. While announcing new AIIMS...