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Dear Reader,
India is home to a staggering 450 million migrants, per the 2011 census, who are an essential cog in the wheel of the Indian economy. Yet, they encounter myriad challenges and exclusions in their lives, often deprived of basic rights, including denial of access to healthcare and social security.
However, as the campaign in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections evidenced, migrants and their issues are not even a blip on the electoral map -- almost “invisibilised”. The India Forum argues that if migrants have to be given their due, they must be included in both the policy and political discourse.
The method of appointing judges in India to the higher judiciary has been a bone of contention between the Supreme Court and the Centre in recent times. The incumbent government has long contested the present collegium system —where a panel of judges of the Apex Court appoint the judges.
In fact, the government introduced legislation in 2015 to set up a six-member National Judicial Appointments Commission that would include the law minister and two other eminent persons. However, the Supreme Court struck this down as “unconstitutional”. Since then, tensions between the executive and judiciary have persisted, with delays in appointments and debates over the process. Now that the government is back for a third term, the Supreme Court Observer looks at where the tussle might lead.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has always been acknowledged to have its upsides and downsides. Now, in Sidhi in Madhya Pradesh, we see its ugly and tragic side. The MojoStory recounts how, after obtaining the details of four female tribal students, a group of men cloned the voice of a teacher known to them, with the help of a 'voice change' app, to lure and then brutally assault them.
While the local police are on the case and POCSO invoked against the accused, local activists and leaders voice concern on the challenges arising from technology being used for criminal activities. They stress the urgent need to educate and orient the vulnerable sections, especially the marginalised communities, on the collateral dangers of technology.
In May, The File reported irregularities in using grants allocated for erecting barbed-wire fencing with RCC pillars in Karnataka's Dharwad forest circle between 2020 and 2023. Based on the report, the government has now instructed the forest department to file a comprehensive report on the work done, and funds utilised under the "RootStock" scheme, for all the forest circles in Karnataka, including Dharwad.
For more such stories from the grantees this week, please read on.
Warmly,
Sunil Rajshekhar
IPSMF
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