-The Indian Express Last October, authorities in the north Karnataka city of Davangere rescued a 37-year-old man whose family had walled him into a room, with only a tiny window for ventilation, for 10 years after he had begun showing signs of schizophrenia. This month, authorities in Bangalore rescued a 35-year-old woman whose parents are said to have confined her at home for over five years after she showed signs of possible...

-Outlook As the Manmohan Singh government makes evident its unfriendliness to villages, the nation hurtles towards disaster. It's a danger no one wants to face. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been trying for years to make us believe that agriculture is a vast marshland in which a huge population is stuck ankle- to neck-deep and it is his duty to rescue them. "Our salvation lies in moving people out of agriculture," he...

-The Hindu     In spite of the rosy picture painted by the World Bank, the prospect of eliminating extreme poverty remains distant In a protracted period of gloom and persistent recession with feeble signs of recovery in a large part of the developed world, the World Bank, Brookings Institution and others can be forgiven for their euphoria over the accomplishment of a key Millennium Development Goal (MDG) - of halving extreme poverty in...

-The Economic Times If India is now debating opening the books and operations of political parties to the public, it's because of these six people who pulled strategic levers and applied relentless pressure. Soma Banerjee traces a four-year effort that converted intent to action Balwant Singh Khera, a politician from Hoshiarpur in Punjab, is not a name that will strike a chord in mainstream politics or social discourse today. It might in...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Four million households in Maoist-affected districts are likely to get BPL status without having to wait for another two years when the Socio-Economic Caste Census is expected to be completed. The list of BPL will be revised based on the findings of the census. The shortcut inclusion in the 82 Maoist-affected districts is aimed at making the poor, who fell between the cracks of the poverty...