A select list of stories to read before you start your day.
31.4% of Indian children will be stunted by 2022: report

Almost one in three Indian children under five years will still be stunted by 2022 going by current trends, according to an analysis of the country’s food and nutrition security released on Tuesday. Over the last decade, child stunting — which is a measure of chronic malnutrition — has reduced at a rate of about 1% per year, the slowest decline among emerging economies. At this rate, 31.4% of children will still be stunted by the 2022 deadline. India must double its rate of progress to reach the target of 25% by that time, says the report.
FIR against 19 villagers in Bihar for blocking highway on June 18
Police on Tuesday filed an FIR against 19 people of Harivanshpur village in Vaishali district of Bihar for blocking NH-22 for three hours on June 18 in protest against the death of seven children due to suspected Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES). The protesters were also demanding supply of drinking water in the village. Most of the accused, though, have left the village.
Centre avoids reply in Lok Sabha on delimitation in J&K, NRC
The Centre on Tuesday avoided providing a direct reply on whether it was planning to conduct a delimitation exercise in Jammu and Kashmir to “remove regional imbalance in the State.” It also skirted a question on whether it planned to extend the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise across the entire country.
Earlier, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP Asaduddin Owaisi raised a question in the Lok Sabha as to whether J&K had not been included in the delimitation exercise taken up in the country and whether the government was considering undertaking it with a view to remove the regional imbalance in the State.
Facebook censored anti-BJP posts: Derek O’Brien
The Trinamool has accused social media giant Facebook of being a “de facto campaigner of the Bharatiya Janata Party” during the Lok Sabha election.
Derek O’Brien, party MP, said in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that “Facebook censored anti-BJP content and its Delhi office was an extension of the BJP Information Technology (IT) cell.”
Help fulfil the dream of a safe, modern, inclusive nation: PM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called upon all parties to move forward together to fulfil the dream of a safe, modern and inclusive country, a call reflected, he said, in the positive mandate that his government received in the last election.
He was speaking in the Lok Sabha, replying to the debate on the motion of thanks to the President for his address to both Houses of Parliament.
Opinion | The future of parliamentary democracy
What, perhaps, is nearer the truth is that ‘issues’ as such had little resonance in the just concluded elections. The Opposition concentrated its attack on the weakening economy, but it is conventional wisdom that the true state of the economy or the lack of jobs is often irrelevant to voters when other matters of greater significance intrude. The Prime Minister, knowingly or unknowingly, never entered into a debate on the economic aspects, thus denying the Opposition a platform. The Opposition also had little occasion to bring up the Mandir issue, since the BJP never projected it as a major election card this time. Mandal politics has long since lost its edge, as the benefits to be derived from it have since become part and parcel of the political philosophy of every party in the country. The Opposition, hence, had little ammunition to deploy against the ruling dispensation.
U.S. Border official resigns amid uproar over conditions migrant children are held in
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Acting Commissioner John Sanders’ resigned on Tuesday, his departure deepening the sense of crisis and adding to the rapid turnover inside the agencies responsible for enforcing President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration priorities, even as the U.S. is dealing with record numbers of migrant families coming across the border.
In a message to employees, Mr. Sanders said he would step down on July 5. He did not give a reason for leaving.
‘Sri Lanka gearing up to hang drug offenders’
Following up on his earlier pledge to hang drug offenders, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has recently signed papers for the execution, according to a top government source.
The move is in connection with the ‘National Drug Prevention Week’ being observed from June 23 to July 1, the senior official source told The Hindu, on condition of anonymity.
Cash in circulation fell post note ban: FM
Demonetisation, coupled with increased digital transactions and the reduced cash usage in the informal economy, led to a reduction in currency in circulation by ₹3.4 lakh crore, according to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Ms. Sitharaman said that the level of currency in circulation as of May 31, 2019, was significantly lower than what it would have been if demonetisation had not happened.