WANTED DOCTOR

50 beded Mission Hospital run by Daughters of Charity, Needs Christian MBBS Doctor (fresher’s can apply). Good Salary & Accommodation will be provided, according to experience.

Sr. Teresa Parakel, Administrator

Mob: 09531623088

Email: deparakel@gmail.com


Dr. Sushil Chacko, Medical Officer

Mob: 09609490700

Bishop James Memorial Rural Health Care Centre,

Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, India

Accelerate your NGO with G Suite and Work Smarter

G Suite is a best official tool for Indian NGOs

Google’s simple and powerful tool to increase the NGO productivity, while letting you focus on what matters most to you — your NGO.

Welcome for taking a closer look at G Suite.

START YOUR FREE TRIAL

https://goo.gl/bP3iTI

G Suite Email & Collaboration Tools
Email, Online storage, Docs, Calendars, Video meetings & more.....

Transform your business communication and collaboration with Google Apps for Work. Get all of the benefits of traditional email and office productivity suites, with the added advantage of enterprise security, mobility and collaboration. It is a true cloud-based solution that offers your business a scalable platform to grow. Google Apps for Work offers a better way of working, and Google experts make it easy to get started with expert setup and ongoing support. You not only get an innovative and powerful set of email &collaboration tools for your business - you also get a google specialists to support and assist you through your deployment, migration, and the day-to-day challenge of leveraging these tools to drive better outcomes for your business.


The Google Apps for Work suite includes:

Gmail:

Bring the ease and reliability of Gmail to work

· Professional email address at your domain name with familiar gmail interface

· 30 GB of storage per email user. Powerful email search functionality

· 99.9% guaranteed uptime. Automatic backups, spam protection & industry-leading security

· Access email on mobile devices and tablets

· Compatible with desktop email clients like Outlook, Apple Mail and Thunderbird

calendar

Spend less time planning and more time doing with shareable calendars

· Integrated online calendars designed for teams

· Smart scheduling for meetings

· Access from your laptop, tablet or phone

· Publish calendars on the web

· Easy migration from legacy systems

Drive


Keep all your work in one secure place with online file storage

· Store, sync and share files with ease

· Google Powered Search to pull up the right files

· Sync files with your computer automatically

· Access from your laptop, tablet or phone

· Easy-to-manage sharing controls

Hangouts

Meet face to face with coworkers and customers

· Connect with the people via HD video, voice or text

· Host Hangouts for up to 15 people

· Built-in screen sharing

· Access from your laptop, tablet or phone

· Save money and time on travel, but still get all the benefits of face-to-face contact

Docs

Word processing for teams

· Create and edit text documents right in your browser - no dedicated software required

· Multiple people can work at the same time, and every change is saved automatically

· Works with all popular file types

· Unlimited revision history and easy-to-manage sharing controls

· Work across devices, with or without Internet

Sheets

Advanced, fast, online spreadsheets

· Create spreadsheets in your browser - no dedicated software needed

· Works with all popular file types. Import and convert existing spreadsheets

· Give individuals or groups permission to edit, view or add comments to spreadsheets

· Handle everything from simple task lists to data analysis with charts, filters and pivot tables

· Work across devices, with or without Internet

Forms

Easy to create surveys and forms for everyone

· Create a form as easily as creating a document

· Send professional looking surveys to customers

· Analyze responses with automatic summaries

· Share forms with an email, a link or a website

· Make smart forms with data validation rules

Slides

Beautiful presentations created together

· Create and edit polished presentations in your browser - no software required

· Multiple people can work at the same time so everyone always has the latest version

· Design slides using templates. Enhance with videos, images, drawings and smooth transitions

· Unlimited revision history and easy-to-manage sharing controls

· Works across PCs, Macs, mobiles and tablets

Sites

Easy-to-create websites for your teams

· Launch an intranet for your company or a project site for your team using site builder

· No coding required. Create sites as simply as writing a doc through an intuitive editor

· Google-powered search to find content across your internal sites

· Enhance your site by embedding calendars, maps, videos, spreadsheets, presentations and more

· Easy to manage sharing controls to your keep data safe
Benefits of Google Apps for Work

· Designed to keep your data safe, secure and under your control. Your data belongs to you

· Stay connected from anywhere. All your work is automatically saved in the cloud

· Helps you and your team work faster and smarter by making it easy for everyone to collaborate effortlessly across teams and locations

· Your employees always have access to the latest software, including the newest features and security updates

· Don't need to buy or maintain servers. Spend less time managing your IT infrastructure

· Go Green. Moving to Google Apps helps reduce both your company's overall expenses and its environmental impact
FAQs

· What is a Google Apps for Work User?
A user is defined as one personalized email address (name@yourcompany.com). Group email aliases don't count as users.

· Can a user have multiple email addresses?
Yes. A user can have multiple email addresses by creating email aliases. You can add up to 30 email aliases for each user.

· Can I add users?
You can add more users anytime by paying required charges.

· Can I access my mail offline?
Yes, you can set up Gmail for offline access to your most recent email messages.

· Are there any other system requirements?
No. Because Google Apps runs in a web browser, you just need to use a supported browser. Google Apps supports: Google Chrome, Internet Explorer 7+, Mozilla Firefox 2.0+, Apple Safari 3.0

· Can I access my Google Apps account from another program?
Yes. You may use programs like Microsoft Outlook, Thunderbird, Windows Mail, Apple Mail and more. Any IMAP / POP Client may be used.

Welcome for taking a closer look at G Suite.

· START YOUR FREE TRIAL

· https://goo.gl/bP3iTI

Foundation Grants

Dear Change Leader,

The growth and development of our nation has been built on the four estates – the Legislature, judiciary, executive and media. The HCL Grant <http://hclgrant.hcltech.com/>, is a recognition of the rise of the Fifth Estate – Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), which have now become critical agents of change that play a decisive role in building a stronger, future-ready India.

HCL Grant supports such change agent NGOs that reach out to marginalized, isolated and nderdeveloped rural communities, and achieve sustainable socio-economic development in the areas of Health, Environment and Education.

For the third edition of HCL Grant, HCL Foundation is currently inviting applications in the following 3 categories – Environment, Education and Health. From each category, one NGO will be awarded a grant of ₹5 Crore each, adding up to a total Grant of ₹15 Crore. The NGO will be selected through a robust evaluation process consisting of multiple levels of assessment, including field level due diligence

THE THEMATIC GRANT CATEGORIES

Following is the indicative list of program areas that could be proposed to seek HCL Grant funding. Please note this is not a comprehensive list - this is to give a sense of the broad areas that the HCL Grant is aimed at:

Environment

* Conservation of environment, the indigenous flora and fauna.

* Access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and clean energy for all.

* Combating climate change and its impact.

* Protecting, restoring, and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystem

and wetlands

* Conservation of natural water bodies, including river rejuvenation, oceans,

natural springs, lakes and others.

* Combating desertification, deforestation, land degradation, biodiversity loss,

pollution and promoting use of renewable resources. (Please note – proposals that

come from agricultural domain only, will not be considered)

* Wildlife conservation and preservation.

Education

* Right to Education for All by upscaling initiatives that strengthen

Elementary, Secondary, Higher Education, Adult Literacy.

* Education that promotes learning opportunities through skill development and

confidence building, including digital literacy.

* Education that leads to better livelihood opportunities and improved income &

better living for young people and adults.

* Equitable, inclusive, and relevant quality education, leading to gender

equality and human resource development.

Health

* Equitable & Universal access to Health for All - segments of population and

ailments.

* Access to clean drinking water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, prevention

and elimination of water borne diseases.

* Maternal, adolescent, child health and nutrition and eradication of

communicable diseases.

Inclusion and gender transformative approaches are underlying principles for HCL Grant.

In 2016 , the first HCL Grant was felicitated by the Honorable President of India,Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, to Going to School in the category of Education. This NGO has reached out to more than 70,000 children in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, providing 21st century entrepreneur skills, through HCL Grant, using innovative story telling method.

On February 21st, 2017, during its second edition, the HCL Grant was felicitated by Honorable Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Mr. Arun Jaitley to Foundation for Ecological Security – Ahmedabad (Environment), Child in Need Institute-Kolkata (Health), Meljol- Mumbai (Education). These NGOs were selected from over 3000 NGOs that applied this year, following a step by step process, including the stages of field level evaluation, eminent Sub Juries and the Jury. While honoring the HCL Grant Recipient NGOs, Mr. Jaitley mentioned, “HCL is the first one to institutionalise the mechanism of Corporate Social Responsibility, through HCL Grant. I must compliment HCL for going into the larger society, creating an independent Jury, looking at areas which need support and getting the Jury to select the best, so that the winners can be role models for others.”

To know more about this initiative by HCL Foundation and APPLY FOR HCL GRANT, please

Click here.<http://hclgrant.hcltech.com/#About>

The last date for receiving applications is June 5th, 2017. For any questions that you might have, please write tohclgrant@hcl.com<mailto:hclgrant@hcl.com>

Best regards,

Nidhi Pundhir

Director CSR - Lead HCL Foundation

HCL Foundation to rope in NGOs

Thrust on education, health and environment, says its head

Ahead of proposed investment in Andhra Pradesh, the IT major HCL has come up with its plans on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the State.

The corporate entity will select local NGOs to execute its programmes in the fields of education, health and environment.

The founders of HCL are keen on the development of the society through NGOs and the special programme ‘HCL Grant’ is an attempt to give unprecedented visibility to the NGOs with best practices, said HCL Foundation, Head-Director CSR, Nidhi Pundhir. The HCL Foundation is going to award a maximum of ₹5-crore grant to three NGOs in each category , she said.

Ms. Nidhi was addressing a gathering of representatives of over a hundred NGOs from across the State at the symposium held at Vasavya Mahila Mandali here on Monday as part of the ‘CSR for National Building: The HCL Grant: Pan India Symposiums,’ a first of its kind nationwide campaign.

“This is a first ever symposium series in India. We are going to 10 States in a month to meet NGOs, government officials and with an aim to bridge the gap wherever necessary.

HCL Grant is a unique project and a pan-India hunt to identify best models of development by reaching out to marginalised, poverty-struck, isolated and underdeveloped rural communities,” she said.

Understanding of the CSR law and CSR Grants, insights and opportunities across education, health and environment to all the details and others were discussed at the symposium.

Call for entries

HCL Grant has announced the call for entries for its third edition in 2017-18 for the categories of education, health and environment and the winning NGO in each of the three thematic categories, will receive a grant of up to ₹5 crore. R. Rama district programme officer, National Rural Health Mission, P. Deeksha, Medical director of Vasavya Mahila Mandali, environmentalist G. Nivanta, former MP Chennupati Vidya and others who addressed the NGO representatives, stressed the need for regional NGOs to adopt new methodologies to serve society.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Vijayawada/hcl-foundation-to-rope-in-ngos/article18413064.ece

Solutions for Good, 2017 – Applications now open!

Dear all,

We hope this email finds you well!

I am excited to share information regarding the Solutions for Good program- our new initiative with Vodafone Foundation.

The Solutions for Good initiative is in response to the challenges faced by non-profit organisations that are unable to create a transformational impact due to the lack of the skills and resources required to build on their technology solutions.

Vodafone Foundation, along with principal partner NASSCOM Foundation, will seek to address this challenge by building technology solutions for selected not-for-profit organisations in India and empower them to create large scale social impact. It can be in various sectors like health, education, women’s empowerment etc.

We are looking for NGOs to apply to this program and if selected, we will build a tech solution for them to help them scale & build capacity.

In order to get more information, please visit solutions4good.socialapphub.com.

The deadline to submit your application is 30th June, 2017.

Please feel free to share this mailer within your network too. In case of any questions, please contact Gagandeep – Gagandeep@nasscomfoundation.org.

For more information’s please visit: http://solutions4good.socialapphub.com/

Accelerate your NGO with G Suite and Work Smarter

G Suite is a best official tool for Indian NGOs

Google’s simple and powerful tool to increase the NGO productivity, while letting you focus on what matters most to you — your NGO.

Welcome for taking a closer look at G Suite.

START YOUR FREE TRIAL at:

https://goo.gl/bP3iTI

Apply: Global Compact on Migration - May to December Thematic Sessions & Multi-stakeholder Hearings in NY, Geneva and Vienna

Stakeholders: Apply to attend the Thematic Sessions and informal interactive multi-stakeholder hearings of the UN General Assembly preparatory process for a global compact for migration

May - December 2017 in New York, Geneva, and Vienna
For NGOs, civil society, diaspora and migrant organizations, academic institutions, and private sector entities

In accordance with United Nations General Assembly resolution 71/1, the "New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants," a preparatory process is underway for the intergovernmental negotiations of a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration, to be adopted at an intergovernmental conference on international migration in 2018. As part of this preparatory process, the President of the General Assembly is organizing a series of informal thematic sessions between April 2017 and November 2017, as well as four days of informal interactive multi-stakeholder hearings between April 2017 and June 2018, in accordance with the organizational arrangements adopted by the UN General Assembly. An informational note about the preparatory process is available here.

At the request of the Office of the President of the General Assembly, the UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service (UN/NGLS), the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN/DESA), UN University and the UN Global Compact, with support of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), are facilitating the stakeholder participation in the multi-stakeholder hearings and Thematic Sessions.

I. Apply to attend the Thematic Sessions and Multi-stakeholder Hearings
Individual representatives of: 1) relevant organizations in consultative status with ECOSOC, 2) NGOs, civil society, diaspora and migrant organizations, academic institutions and private sector entities approved for special accreditation* to this process, may apply to attend any of the 5 remaining Thematic Sessions and/or the 3 informal interactive multi-stakeholder hearings taking place in 2017 using the form at this link:

http://bit.ly/GCM-Sessions-Hearings-Apply
Deadlines are listed below.
* A process for such organizations / institutions / entities to apply for special accreditation to this process was open from 14 March - 17 April 2017.


II. Apply to serve on the Stakeholder Steering Committee by 9 May 2017
Representatives of the multiple stakeholder organizations listed above may also apply to serve on a Stakeholder Steering Committee for the full preparatory process. More information, Terms of Reference, and the application form for the Steering Committee is available here.

III. Schedule of Thematic Sessions and Multi-stakeholder Hearings:

22-23 May 2017 - New York - Addressing drivers of migration, including adverse effects of climate change, natural disasters and human-made crises, through protection and assistance, sustainable development, poverty eradication, conflict prevention and resolution

APPLY BY 15 MAY 2017

19-20 June 2017 - Geneva - International cooperation and governance of migration in all its dimensions, including at borders, on transit, entry, return, readmission, integration and reintegration

APPLY BY 30 MAY 2017

24-25 July 2017 - New York - Contributions of migrants and diasporas to all dimensions of sustainable development, including remittances and portability of earned benefits

APPLY BY 20 JUNE 2017

26 July 2017 - New York - Informal interactive multi-stakeholder hearing (full day)

APPLY BY 20 JUNE 2017

4-5 September 2017 - Vienna - Smuggling of migrants, trafficking in persons and contemporary forms of slavery, including appropriate identification, protection and assistance to migrants and trafficking victims

JULY DEADLINE TBD

2-3 October 2017 - Geneva - Irregular migration and regular pathways, including decent work, labour mobility, recognition of skills and qualifications and other relevant measures

AUGUST DEADLINE TBD

4 October 2017 - Geneva (TBC) - Informal interactive multi-stakeholder hearing (full day)

AUGUST DEADLINE TBD

18 December 2017 - New York - Informal interactive multi-stakeholder hearing (half day)

OCTOBER DEADLINE TBD

Thank you for your interest in this process.

Home Ministry blocks Foreign Funds for NGOs

Last year in the month of December, the Ministry of Home Affairs cancelled 20,000 licenses out of 33,000 NGOs of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) for violating the various provisions of the Act. Although, no list had been revealed declaring the names of the NGOs but sources reveal some of them. Lawyers Collective, Compassion East India, Indian Social Action Forum and the Institute of Public Health Centre for Promotion of Social Concerns (People’s Watch), Sanchal Foundation Hazards Centre along with several other names.

The Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) was also one of these names which were barred from receiving the foreign funds. Then Previous Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, launched PHFI on March 28, 2006, at New Delhi with the vision of strengthening India’s public health institutional and systems capability and providing knowledge to achieve better health outcomes for all.

According to the Home Ministry of India, the Delhi-based Non-Government Organisation, PHFI has been found to be allegedly violating various provisions of the FCRA by using the funds elsewhere and not in the program lead by it in association with Ministry of Health such as Anti-tobacco campaigns.

Regarding this ban, PHFI president, Professor K. Srinath Reddy said, “We have received notification from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) – FCRA Wing regarding the renewal of its FCRA Registration. Certain observations have been made by the Ministry on utilisation of funds related to PHFIs projects on tobacco, HIV/AIDS and its financial reports. PHFI has submitted the requisite information and documents to the MHA on the observations raised in the notification and provided the needed clarifications.”

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was PHFI’s one of the leading foreign donors that has donated Rs 183 crore funds to it so far.

Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) is an Indian parliamentary act to regulate the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality by certain individuals or associations or companies and to prohibit acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality for any activities detrimental to the national interest.

The Home Ministry has already started the process of reviewing the working of the NGOs about a year ago.

Source: https://indianceo.in/news/home-ministry-blocks-funds-ngos/

Now, MPs can allot NGOs funds for development projects

KOLKATA: Members of Parliament no longer need to take the official route for spending their annual Rs 5 crore local area development scheme fund allotment for setting up community infrastructure or public utility buildings. The Narendra Modi government has allowed MPs to get the work done through NGOs.

On their part, these NGOs have to be registered with the NGO Darpan portal http://ngodarpan.gov.in maintained by NITI Aayog and obtain a Unique Identification Number. The ministry of statistics and programme implementation, in a recent circular, has amended guidelines for Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds utilisation to include such registered trusts and societies. The circular comes with a rider though. An MP can spend a maximum Rs 50 lakh through a single trust or NGO.

The new norm, which marks a sharp departure from the prevailing system in which MPs were required to process their proposals through the district magistrate/commissioner and get the work done only through government agencies, has evoked mixed response in the administration.

Jai Prakash Institute of Social Change director Joydev Majumdar welcomed the move and hoped that MPs will come forward to release funds for social development.

While a section of state officials welcomed the move saying this will lighten the burden on state agencies entrusted with a lot of project work, some feared that these trusts/NGOs may open the doors for money laundering. "It throws open the scope for an MP to allot the money to the NGO he patronises and plough back a portion of the funds back to him. Nodal authorities need to step up scrutiny and assessment of the construction work at stages to plug leakages," a Nabanna official said.

The observation gains significance given the way MPLADS fund allotments have been raised from the annual Rs 5 lakh in 1993-94 to Rs 5 crore in 2011-12, a 10-time increase over two decades.

Former Trinamool MP and retired IAS Bikram Sarkar feared that the new system will make way for corruption. "I have reasons to believe that family members of many MPs run NGOs. This has become the standard operating procedure for a section of MPs. Several studies have shown how MPLADS funds are being misused," Sarkar said.

CPM MP Mohammad Salim, however, won't give all NGOs a bad name. "Like in all other spheres, there are good and bad NGOs. I agree that some trusts are being set up with the aim of money laundering. It is also a fact that many MPs and their families have their own private trusts and NGOs that can create a clash of interests. The nodal officers should therefore check the credentials of NGOs, before release of funds," Salim said.

The CPM MP also highlighted another problem he claimed was unique to Bengal. "I am not always satisfied with the quality of work done by government agencies. In fact, I mentioned this in my letter to the DM in regard to one such shoddy work under my MPLAD. This is happening because of the syndicate raj. This can affect the work of NGOs as well," Salim said.

Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, however, saw nothing wrong in granting funds to NGOs. "No system in India is fool-proof. It always leaves scope for some people to take advantage of the faulty process. Nodal officers can stop sanction if the NGOs are not registered with NITI Aayog or they are not of good repute. Many MPs run NGOs and trusts, but they cannot provide funds to their own NGOs as it amounts to conflict of interest. Even after knowing it if MPs release funds for their own NGOs, then they should face consequences for such favouritism," he said.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/now-mps-can-allot-ngos-funds-for-devpt-projects/articleshow/58523778.cms

At India's human rights record review, A-G Mukul Rohatgi cites country's secular, non-violent character

As India’s human rights record was reviewed, such themes as ratifying the UN’s Convention Against Torture (CAT), protection of religious and other minorities, criminalising marital rape and reviewing the Foreign Contribution Regulatory Act (FCRA) were raised by foreign governments at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Thursday.

The 18-member Indian delegation at the HRC led by the Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi said in his opening statement that "India is a secular State with no State religion", and that it does not discriminate on the basis of religion, caste or colour. "Some of India’s most famous institutions of academic excellence are minority institutions," Rohatgi said, "Safeguarding the rights of minorities forms an essential core of our polity."

In the statement, Rohatgi said that India is committed to ratifying CAT. "We believe in peace, non-violence and upholding human dignity. As such, the concept of torture is completely alien to our culture and it has no place in the governance of the nation," he said. More than 30 countries including Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Norway, Portugal, South Korea, Russia and Senegal called on India to ratify CAT. It may be recalled that while India signed CAT in 1997, it has yet to ratify the convention.

Germany called for the amendment of the FCRA "ensuring the freedom of association which includes the civil society’s ability to access foreign funding" and protect human rights defenders against harassment. The German delegate expressed concern over the treatment of minorities. Around a dozen countries, mostly from the western bloc — including Ireland, the US, the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, Czech Republic and Norway, spoke of reviewing the FCRA for its negative impact on the functioning of NGOs, which recently led to the cancellation of the licences of more than 10,000 NGOs due to alleged violations of Indian law.

The American delegate said that it noted the "lack of transparency and uneven application" in the FCRA that impedes NGOs.

Switzerland stated that it was "concerned about the increasing restrictions imposed by the Government of India on the independent actors of civil society" including those of religious minorities and against their activities.

"Any measures limiting freedom of expression and assembly and association on the internet is based on clearly defined criteria in accordance with international law including international human rights law," Sweden said.

India responded by saying that FCRA prohibits the acceptance or utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality for any activity that is detrimental to national interest and that "CSOs and individuals need to work in conformity and within the legal framework of the State".

The issue of discrimination against religious and other minorities as well as the need to repeal anti-conversion laws were raised by countries like the US, the UK, Switzerland, the Vatican, the Netherlands, Germany and South Korea among others.

The American delegate said that laws restricting religious conversion "contribute to intolerance" while the Vatican recommended strengthening freedom of religion especially by "retracting so-called anti-conversion laws", to pursue through appropriate judicial means to prevent all violent acts against religious and tribal minorities, Dalits and other lower castes. The UK said that it encourages the passing of the Communal Violence Bill in Parliament.

"On the issue of perceived discrimination of minorities and the situation of freedom of religion, it is to be stated that India is a secular country. India is one of the most diverse nations in terms of religion," said Rohatgi. India also cited various constitutional guarantees for exercising the freedom of religion.

Although some countries spoke of the need to repeal Armed Forces Special Powers Acts (Afspa) and hold security forces accountable, only Pakistan raised the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan said that India must stop violations of human rights against Kashmiri people and "allow them to exercise their right to self-determination through a free and fair plebiscite". It further said that it should repeal Afspa and "immediately ban" the use of pellet guns.

"The present situation in Jammu and Kashmir… was and is aggravated by sustained cross-border terrorism emanating from our neighbourhood,"India said in response, "The entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and hence, any such description as 'Indian-administered' or 'Indian-occupied' Kashmir is invalid and artificial."

A number of countries raised the issue of women’s rights, like including marital rape within the ambit of rape laws (Spain, Latvia, Namibia, Portugal, Slovenia, Ireland, Sweden, Zambia, Belgium and others), the issue of honour killings and forced sterilisations (Ghana, Iceland, Sweden and others), as well as repealing Section 377 (Israel, Iceland, Norway, Canada and others) that criminalises same sex relations.

Japan said thatal though there has been progress on issues around women’s empowerment, more effective measures were needed to protect women because they continue to be subjected to "widespread discrimination".

Spain, Italy, Namibia, Portugal, Ireland and Belgium among other countries spoke of the need to have a moratorium on the death penalty in India and eventually abolish it altogether. From the Indian neighbourhood, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan backed India’s human rights record.

Attacks against Africans in India were also mentioned by some countries like Haiti, who called on India to take measures to address "Afrophobia". India called all attacks on Africans in India as "unfortunate and painful" and that the relations with Africa is "based on brotherhood". Not all acts of violence should be construed as racial attacks, India said, adding that it is the land of Gautam Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi and that "we cannot have a racial mindset".

This is India’s third universal periodic review (UPR) — a peer review by other UN member states where the human rights record of a country is examined. The UPR recommendations of India will be adopted on 9 May. It is among 14 countries to be reviewed in the current cycle.

Source: http://www.firstpost.com/india/at-indias-human-rights-record-review-a-g-mukul-rohatgi-cites-indias-secular-non-violent-character-3425500.html