-The Telegraph The merger of two statistics bodies would bring such data more directly under the Control of the government During the last five years, there have been a number of controversies over economic data presented by the government and by relatively autonomous bodies like the National Sample Survey Office. The controversies have been quite sharp, leading to two senior members of the National Statistical Commission resigning earlier this year. These controversies,...

-The Hindu Trend is towards Control of content The production of media content and its distribution are becoming increasingly combined and concentrated in the hands of a few, finds the Media Ownership Monitor (MOM), a research project carried out in India over the past six months by Reporters Without Borders and the Delhi-based digital media company DataLEADS. The study, presented in Delhi on Wednesday, also assesses the media space as a narrow one,...

-The Hindu Cabinet Ministers take to Twitter to allay concerns over draft educational policy New Delhi: The Centre went into damage Control mode on Sunday, with senior Cabinet Ministers of Tamil origin taking to Twitter to allay concerns about the draft National Education Policy’s recommendation regarding the three-language formula and mandatory Hindi teaching in schools, which has sparked outrage across the political spectrum in Tamil Nadu. The draft policy will only be implemented...

-PTI Out of 86 live monitoring stations installed in as many locations, only seven areas have been found to be fit for drinking after the disinfection process while 78 have been found unfit. NEW DELHI: The Ganga River water is absolutely unfit for "direct drinking" and only seven spots from where it passes can be consumed after disinfection, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has said. According to the latest data with the...

-Hindustan Times It is also important to remember that both these laws were the product of sustained, grassroots-level social movements. Consequently, perhaps the surest remedy against possible future dilution may lie not in judicial challenges (although that remains important), but in popular mobilisation. With the 2019 general election yielding a decisive mandate for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), attention will soon turn to the new government’s legislative agenda. As the government is...