-The Hindu An analysis of 812 MLAs across the five states where elections were recently conducted. A third of all the MLAs elected through the recent elections have criminal charges filed against them, says an analysis done by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR). The firm collected and analysed data for all the 812 MLAs elected in the recently-concluded polls in the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry. State-wise...

-Down to Earth A recent report shows how energy requirement of women differ in various states and in different occupations and how limiting the current scenarios are SEWA Bharat and SELCO Foundation together formed a “Stree Shakti Consortium” to promote the inclusion of women in energy access supply chain. The consortium, yesterday, conducted a workshop to present a report called “Energy Access and Women's Livelihood” that articulates on-ground stories of 300...

-The Indian Express MPs must not run down a law that promises a more informed citizenry The Right to Information (RTI) Act has undoubtedly been a most empowering legislation for citizens. The law has initiated the vital task of redistributing power in a democratic framework. It is perhaps this paradigm shift in the locus of power that has resulted in consistent efforts by the powerful to denigrate it. The latest attack on...

-Livemint.com Pulses use less water per unit crop and also address hidden hunger The severe drought across India should hopefully help focus attention on the overuse of water in agriculture. A data analysis by Roshan Kishore in this newspaper last week showed that the average water footprint for five major crops—rice, wheat, maize, sugarcane and cotton—is far higher than global averages. At the root of the problem is a policy framework that...

Although the focus of erstwhile UPA and the present NDA government has been to achieve higher economic growth by reaping the 'demographic dividend', a recent report from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) informs us that a substantial chunk of the population underwent ageing during the last 60 years. The report entitled Elderly in India: Profile and Programmes 2016 from CSO (that comes under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation) shows...