A study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 36 countries found that two-thirds of sexually active women who wished to delay or limit childbearing stopped using contraception for the fear of side effects, health concerns and underestimation of the likelihood of conception. This led to one in four …
Read More »New social security code proposed
The Centre has proposed a new draft Code on Social Security that amalgamates eight laws — covering Employees’ Provident Fund, maternity benefits and compensation among others — that makes way for establishing funds for PF and pension as well as covering workers of the gig economy in social security schemes. …
Read More »Oral health given short shrift, says study
Situation is the most bleak in low-income countries, saysLancetreport “Oral diseases present a major global public health burden, affecting 3.5 billion people worldwide, yet oral health has been largely ignored by the global health community,” noted a new Lancet Series on Oral Health . The report warns that with a …
Read More »SC declines urgent hearing on lynching plea
The Supreme Court declined urgent hearing on a plea seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against some states for their alleged failure in curbing lynching incidents. It did not allow the submission of a lawyer that the judgements, laying down guidelines to deal with lynching and cow vigilantism incidents in the …
Read More »No phones, inter-caste marriages for Thakor girls
Stipulates stringent fines if parents do not follow the directives, says education is more important In a regressive step, Gujarat’s Thakor community unanimously passed a fiat directing parents to discourage their daughters from having mobile phones and inter-caste marriages. If found with phones, the parents can be fined up to …
Read More »Schools turn nutrition gardens in Mizoram’s most backward district
Scheme to ensure fresh producefor children It takes a powerful SUV almost nine hours on non-rainy days to cover 296 km from Mizoram capital Aizawl southward to Lawngtlai, headquarters of the State’s remotest district Lawngtlai bordering Bangladesh and Myanmar. Loaded commercial vehicles take much longer, and those carrying perishables mainly …
Read More »Rajya Sabha clears law removing leprosy as ground for divorce
Parliament on Wednesday passed a Bill removing leprosy as a ground for divorce under five personal laws, including the Hindu Marriage Act. The Rajya Sabha on the last day of the Budget session passed the Bill without debate after consensus on the issue. The Personal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2018 sought …
Read More »Northeast hails lapse of Citizenship Bill
The Centre’s failure in tabling the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday triggered euphoria across the North-Eastern states. As soon as the news of the lapsing of the Bill came in, people across Assam and the neighbouring States took to the streets bursting firecrackers, singing, dancing …
Read More »Citizenship, triple talaq Bills lapse
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, that had set off a series of violent protests across the northeastern States, lapsed on Wednesday as the government failed to push it through Rajya Sabha despite a last- ditch effort on Tuesday. Along with the Citizenship Bill, the triple talaq Bill that criminalises instant …
Read More »Voters want more women in LS: survey
More than 82% voters want more women in the next Lok Sabha, according to a survey by a citizen’s collective called Shakti. The survey was conducted among 10 lakh voters across 24 States on a mobile application called Neta app. The application has more than two crore verified users and …
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