-The Indian Express As activists on both sides argue their case on the SC order on eviction of encroachers whose claims have been rejected under the FRA, an explanation of key issues: from dwindling forest cover to bogus claims. On February 28, the Supreme Court put on hold its February 13 order directing states to evict tribals and other forest-dwellers whose claims over encroached forest land had been rejected under the...

-The Hindu Better education is not leading to better job opportunities, marriage prospects or freedom of movement Abigail Adams, wife of the second President of the U.S. and mother of the sixth President, wrote to her husband, “If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion.” As last year’s #MeToo movement and Sabarimala protests showed, perhaps Indian women are echoing her and are...

-The Hindu New Delhi: Anganwadi services have a poor reach among key beneficiaries – the poorest of the poor and uneducated mothers – according to a paper published in a WHO bulletin recently. The government’s Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) provides a package of six services at anganwadi or child-care centres to young children and pregnant women and lactating mothers. These services INClude supplementary nutrition, referral services, immunisation, health check-up, pre-school non-formal...

-PTI AMRITSAR: Protesting farmers in Punjab called off their agitation on Wednesday after Punjab and Haryana high court asked the state government to look into their demands. The farmers had been squatting on the rail tracks in Amritsar sINCe March 4 in support of their demands, INCluding full loan waiver, stopping the auction of land and arrest of farmers, and payment for sugarcane crop with 15 per cent interest. A petition seeking the...

-The Indian Express Government’s scheme to pay Rs 6,000 every year to poor rural households will INCrease their expenditure, reduce poverty by 10 to 20 per cent in many states. In the last week of February, the government launched a scheme to pay Rs 6,000 every year to poor rural households who own less than 2 hectares of land. The scheme will have an annual outlay of Rs 75,000 crore. The...