-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government has decided to put a blanket ban on several websites that allow users to share pornographic content. In an order dated June 13, department of telecom (DoT) has directed internet service providers (ISPs) to block 39 websites. Most of them are web forums, where internet users share images and URLs to download pornographic files. But some of these websites are also image hosts and...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: With 9,787 regular and 4,447 contract drivers on its payroll, Delhi Transport Corporation has one of the largest resource pools in the city. Unfortunately, these drivers are calling attention to the corporation for all the wrong reasons. Since 2011, the number of accidents involving DTC buses has steadily gone up with a corresponding increase in fatalities. Complaints of rash driving have been pouring in, prompting frequent...

KEY TRENDS   • According to National Sample Survey report no. 583: Persons with Disabilities in India, the percentage of persons with disability who received aid/help from Government was 21.8 percent, 1.8 percent received aid/help from organisation other than Government and another 76.4 percent did not receive aid/ help *8   • As per National Family Health Survey-4 (NFHS-4), the Under-five Mortality Rate (U5MR) was 57.2 per 1,000 live births (for the non-STs it was 38.5)...

Groups from across India gathered in Delhi recently to assess the Forest Rights Act’s journey since 2006. The law is often dubbed as ‘landmark’ because it ended the age-old illegality surrounding communities living in forest areas by entitling them to individual and community land title. It also went beyond the colonial paradigms of the forest bureaucracy to recognise community efforts at protecting and preserving forests. Numerous groups and individuals working...

-Live Mint Court says legal, ethical issues involved; directs govt to monitor and regulate clinical trials of all experimental drugs  The Supreme Court directed the health ministry to monitor and regulate all clinical trials of experimental drugs in the country until further notice and observed that unregulated trials have caused “havoc”. The apex court order on Thursday revoked the power of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization under the Drugs Controller General of...