Full Coverage: India

30.09.2007 PAHELI (People’s Audit of Health, Education and Livelihoods) takes MDGs to the local level so that ordinary residents can understand how far they have fared on their social goals. This exercise has been carried out by the NGO Pratham with support from UNDP and UNICEF in 11 of the poorest districts in India.

29.09.2007 I For India uses the home movies and reel-to-reel tape recordings sent to his family in India by Dr Yash Pal Suri, following his migration to Darlington in 1965.

29.09.2007 The recently concluded Manthan Awards 2007 brought together India’s E-content stakeholders from across the ICT arena, government, civil society, NGOs and industry to discuss the role of e-content for development to empower rural India. The high-profile event was held from September 21- 22 at the India Islamic Cultural Centre, New Delhi.

29.09.2007 India’s first Local Area Portal (LAP) on a parliamentary constituency has been launched by Digital Empowerment Foundation. The idea is to make all data – social, cultural, historical – available to its citizens, including announcements from the local MPs and MLAs. The LAP project plans to represent every electorate cluster in the country.

29.09.2007 The southern state of Karnataka in India has set up E-Halli centres – an e-governance initiative to provide important information and services in rural areas. The centres will operate from the panchayat premises and will charge a small annual fee.

29.09.2007 India’s first Local Area Portal (LAP) on a parliamentary constituency has been launched by Digital Empowerment Foundation. The idea is to make all data – social, cultural, historical – available to its citizens, including announcements from the local MPs and MLAs. The LAP project plans to represent every electorate cluster in the country.

28.09.2007 Registration of births and a crackdown on diagnostic centres have resulted in more girls being born than boys in the southern city of Hyderabad. Its success in reversing its decade-long sex-ratio is now being considered for replication in other states by the government.

28.09.2007 Liian monen tyttölapsen kohtalona on kuolema, ennen kuin elämä on päässyt alkuun, kirjoittaa Säde Jokivuori. Hän työskentelee tasa-arvoasioiden neuvonantajana Fida Internationalin Intian-ohjelmassa.

27.09.2007 The recently concluded Manthan Awards 2007 brought together India’s E-content stakeholders from across the ICT arena, government, civil society, NGOs and industry to discuss the role of e-content for development to empower rural India. The high-profile event was held from September 21- 22 at the India Islamic Cultural Centre, New Delhi.

27.09.2007 Freelance journalist Jason Motlagh unearths the India beyond Bollywood and the info-tech boom. Keep up with his blogs and photo reports on the country's rural poor, who are dealing with flooding and a four-decade-long guerrilla insurgency.

27.09.2007 The World Bank has decided not to be ‘tried’ by the Tribunal’s jury. A statement released by the Bank on the concluding day of the IPT, while claiming interest in an open public debate, has cited its reasons for abstaining itself.

27.09.2007 Yli kuudensadan kansalaisjärjestöaktiivin ja tutkijan nelipäiväinen kokous ruoti Maailmanpankkia liiasta vaikutusvallasta Intian sisäisiin asioihin. Kokous päättyi torstaina – ilman Maailmanpankin lupaamaa vastausta.

27.09.2007 The Independent Peoples Tribunal (IPT) on the World Bank in India has held the Bank’s policies and projects guilty of causing untold sufferings among millions of poor and of violating human rights. The four-day hearing was attended by activists, civil society groups, academics, policy analysts and project affected communities who presented evidence against the Bank.

26.09.2007 A recent press conference organised by the Conference of Indian Industry (CII) called for leveraging technology for equitable growth. Corporate India will have to take up issues of education and skill development of socially disadvantaged classes, the CII President said.

25.09.2007 Intian Rajasthanin osavaltiossa abortoidaan tyttösikiöitä ja tapetaan jopa tyttölapsia tiukan kahden lapsen politiikan takia. Osavaltion sukupuolijakauma on vääristynyt, sillä alueelta puuttuu lukemattomia tyttöjä, kertoo jaipurilaisen kansalaisjärjestön tuore tutkimus.

25.09.2007 When Imrana, a Muslim Indian woman from a small village, was raped by her father-in-law, the local Islamic courts deemed her "sinful" and ordered her to divorce. But with help from a women's rights coalition, Imrana brought her case to a secular court where her assailant was sentenced to 8 years in prison on rape charges.
From: Women's eNews

25.09.2007 A recent study has revealed that strong son preference and female foeticide have led to a skewed sex ratio in the state of Rajasthan in India. It also questions whether the two-child norm has led to a worsening of the situation.

24.09.2007 In the Malwa belt of rural Punjab in India, mile after mile of Bt cotton fields are under attack by a bug pest. Bt cotton has turned into a bitter pill for farmers who were promised profits but are now facing huge losses.

24.09.2007 $1 million, out of a five million dollar grant to ORBIS International from American International Group, Inc. (AIG), will be utilized by ORBIS India to support programmes for eliminating avoidable blindness in children, assist local agencies in eye banking and enhance management skills of ORBIS partners through training and infrastructure support.

24.09.2007 The RAFTO Prize, an international human rights prize awarded annually to human rights defenders, has been won by Indian organisation National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR). Previous RAFTO laureates include Aung San Suu Kyi and Kim Dae-Jung.