-Economic and Political Weekly After coming to power in 2014, the National Democratic Alliance government took several measures to dilute the pro-poor provisions of the Land Acquisition Act of 2013. Though it has backed down, several questions remain over the way the Modi government has dealt with the issue of land acquisition. Santosh Verma (santosh.econ@gmail.com) is at the Council for Social Development, New Delhi. Land acquisition—by private corporations or the state—has raised vital...

-PTI Nearly half of the infant deaths are tied to malnutrition, and 45 per cent occur during the FIRst 28 days of life. Houston: Nearly 5.9 million children will die before their fifth birthday this year mainly of preventable causes, a UN report has warned, though the child mortality rate has fallen by more than 50 per cent since 1990. The mortality rate among children under five has fallen from 12.7 million...

-The Hindu District Mineral Foundations were set up to protect the interests of Adivasi communities who have borne the costs of mining. But they are flawed in their current form Through 2011-13, dogged investigators from the Justice M. B. Shah Commission on illegal mining toured the rust-red villages, forests and rivers of northern Odisha, and trawled through reams of official records including from the environment, minerals, railways, and revenue departments. They met...

-India Today Agriculture powerhouse Madhya Pradesh still suffers from high levels of malnutrition, a contrast that exposes our flawed food policies Madhya Pradesh in mid-March is heavy with the scent of the Mahua blossom. Heaped at village bazaars, and now restricted largely to brewing liquor, its pungent smell is fast disappearing from indigenous tribal stews and curries. On the road to Petlawad and Alirajpur on the western edge of the state, farmers...

-Hindustan Times New Delhi: For a number of child beggars in the city, begging is a part-time job since they also manage to do street-vending and ragpicking. More than 57% child beggars stated this in a survey conducted by the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR). Even as police hint at an organised racket, this study on such minors reveals a sorry tale as 80% children were forced into begging...