Counterview

By ​Raj Kumar Sinha*  ​Madhya Pradesh is home to one of India’s largest tribal populations. According to the 2011 Census, Scheduled Tribes account for roughly 21.09% of the state’s population. A vast segment of this tribal population resides in rural and remote regions where poverty, livelihood precarity, and severe deficits in access to education, nutrition, and healthcare persist. In this context, reports of recurring child deaths in August 2026 from the Baiga-dominated pockets of Balaghat district cannot be brushed aside as an isolated local health anomaly. It poses an urgent, foundational question to the real-world efficacy of Madhya Pradesh's tribal health and nutrition policies.

By A Representative   A human rights organisation, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) has urged the West Bengal government to intervene immediately in the alleged detention, deprivation of basic necessities and denial of medical treatment to a 25-year-old Bangladeshi woman and her two-year-old son in Murshidabad.

By A Representative   In a landmark order, the Supreme Court of India has issued a comprehensive and unambiguous directive to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to implement front-of-pack warning labels on junk food within two weeks. The bench, led by Justice J.B. Pardiwala, rejected FSSAI’s argument that India cannot match international standards, asking pointedly: “Should India remain an underdeveloped country?” The Court further stated: “The world should know that India is very much concerned about the overall health of its citizens, more particularly the growing children.”

By Vikas Meshram*  Somewhere between a UN trade agency’s ledger of debt and a charity’s tally of billionaire fortunes lies one of the clearest pictures of the world in 2026: a planet where governments are increasingly struggling to educate their children and provide basic services, while a tiny number of individuals possess fortunes so vast that even a fraction of their wealth could transform the lives of millions.

By Bhar Dogra    In the implementation of welfare programs, one principle that should command universal consensus—and be applied without exception—is that the poorest households must not face any reduction in their benefits or entitlements. Reform can be undertaken without reduction, and reform can even include increases, but no change should result in diminished entitlements for the most vulnerable. Guided by this principle, I appeal to the Government of India to withdraw a proposed amendment to the National Food Security Act. If implemented, this amendment could significantly reduce the existing food entitlements of nearly ten million of India’s poorest households—specifically those with 1 to 4 members.

By A Representative   India needs a diversified energy strategy that combines ethanol, electric vehicles (EVs), hybrids, CNG and hydrogen rather than relying on a single mobility technology, the Indian Federation of Green Energy (IFGE) has said amid the ongoing debate over the country’s Ethanol Blending Programme (EBP).