-The Hindu A former Indian Police Service official, Amod Kanth, has been organising interface sessions between senior Delhi Police officers and juvenile delinquents as part of a reform programme that among other things aims at drawing the two sides together. His non-government organisation ‘Prayas’ is currently organising programmes for 100 juveniles to help the State understand the motive behind crimes and to curb their recurrence. “The programme has 25 per cent juveniles...

-The Indian Express The growing influence on policy issues of activists who call themselves “civil society” is a worrying trend and needs to be objectively analysed. Two recent policy pronouncements will illustrate how government seems to be yielding to their pressure. It is well established that absenteeism of teachers and poor quality of outcomes in government schools is the main factor behind the popularity of private schools with poor infrastructure that cater...

-The Hindustan Times All colleges may soon have to get accredited, and foreign varsities will be able to offer joint degrees with Indian universities – without the enactment of laws making accreditation mandatory and allowing foreign institutions entry into India. With 14 bills aimed at a plethora of higher education reforms stuck at different stages of parliamentary approval, the UPA has decided to try and use existing laws to draw up regulations...

-The Indian Express With less than a fortnight left to roll out its direct cash transfer scheme, the government is trying to fast-track the process of identification and registration of beneficiaries for the 34 schemes. Accordingly, it has decided to set up camps in each of the 43 districts where direct cash transfers would be launched for preparing a central database of beneficiaries, enrollment for Aadhaar numbers and opening of bank accounts. “A...

-The Indian Express Two weeks before the direct cash transfer is unveiled in 43 districts, a partial list available with The Indian Express reveals generation of Aadhaar numbers has been erratic till November 30. Faced with low registration in some states, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has reportedly asked the state governments to focus on enrolling only those who will benefit from the 34 schemes covered under the direct...