Child nutrition horror figures

New Delhi(PTI): More than half of the country’s children below the age of 6 are malnourished, according to the latest data from the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS).

According to the quarterly progress report received from the state governments and Union territories, 49.61 per cent of the children are moderately malnourished, and 0.60 per cent are severely malnourished.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, minister of state for women and child development Renuka Chowdhury said the problem of malnutrition had to be addressed through holistic and coordinated interventions.

The steps taken recently include expansion of the ICDS scheme to 466 projects and 1.88 lakh anganwadi centres. The number of beneficiaries have gone up from 375.09 lakh in 2002 to 562.18 lakh in 2006, she added.

Plainspeak on speedy verdict

New Delhi (PTI): The right to speedy trial is a constitutional right of an accused, but no guidelines can be set for the court to speed up proceedings, minister of state for law and justice K. Venkatapathy told the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

The Supreme Court has often iterated that “speedy trial is one facet of the fundamental right to life and liberty enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution”, he said.

However, “no guidelines can be fixed by the court and each case has to be examined on its own facts and circumstances”.

He added the government had taken steps to provide infrastructure and material support for judicial administration and amend laws and procedure codes suitably.

Cola ban plea

New Delhi (Reuters): The Kerala government has appealed against a high court order to lift its ban on Coca-Cola and Pepsi drinks over allegations that they contained pesticides.

No date has been set for a hearing.

Ayodhya case

Rae Bareli (PTI): An Uttar Pradesh court hearing the Ayodhya demolition cases against BJP leaders L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and six others has rejected a defence application challenging the authority of the CBI to act as the prosecuting agency.

Rail mishap

Calcutta: Eastern Railway has termed “untrue” The Telegraph report on Monday that quoted an official and relatives of victims of the bridge-crash disaster as saying no railway officer was present when autopsy was carried out. An official statement from the railway said scores of officers had been camping at Bhagalpur.

Manmohan Singh will unveil a statue of Murasoli Maran on December 8, a day after statues of M.G. Ramachandran and Bhupesh Gupta are unveiled in Parliament House.