The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought a response from the Delhi government on a PIL requesting quashing of nursery admission guidelines framed by the government on the grounds that they violated the Right to education Act. The court also issued a notice to the Centre and asked for its reply within six weeks. The next date of hearing on the matter is in March next year. The PIL was filed...

CPI(M) will organise a two-day state level adivasi conference at Malbazar in Jalpaiguri district from December 28. But adivasis under the aegis of Adivasi Vikas Parishad have given a call for a 2-day bandh coinciding with the conference. John Berla, president of Adivasi Vikas Parishad, told newsmen here yesterday that the CPI(M) had not given attention to the plight of tea garden labourers, distribution of patta to tribals, proving education facilities in...

“To make democracy function effectively, we must have inclusive growth. Microfinance has given a choice to those who were earlier excluded from the traditional institutional mode of finance. Since more than 80 per cent of Indian farmers do not get loans from such institutions, emergence of micro-finance has been beneficial to the rural poor.” Dr Amiya Sharma, executive director of the Rastriya Gramin Vikash Nidhi (RGVN) opined this at the fourth...

The first step towards opening "secret" files maintained by civil servants and public authorities was taken by Parliament through Freedom of Information Act, 2002. It was replaced by Right to Information Act in 2005. The objective was to give meaning to the word "civil servant". For, the babus had been groomed by the system to hide almost everything from those for whose service they were employed. Attitude is an important aspect...

The Bengal government today pushed through a controversial bill that will empower the state panchayat department to create a parallel school education system with nearly 20,000 rural schools. The West Bengal Panchayat Board of education Bill had fuelled widespread concern at its conception itself but the Left government bulldozed the legislation through the Assembly today in the face of a walkout by the combined Opposition. At the root of the overdrive appears...