-The Times of India Families living in cities and towns with annual income of up to Rs 1 lakh or monthly earning of up to Rs 8,334 will fall in the category of economically weaker section (EWS), according to new criteria formulated by the housing and urban poverty alleviation ministry. Households having income between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 2 lakh or monthly earning of up to Rs 16,667 will be classified...

-Mainstream Weekly Dr Binayak Sen, an internationally renowned medical practitioner and social activist (a leading figure in the People’s Union for Civil Liberties), was incarcerated in Chhattisgarh and held in detention in Raipur having been branded as a Maoist for his activities in defence of poor tribals in the State. He is now out on bail. The following is the text of the Arvind Narayan Das Memorial Lecture he delivered in...

-The Hindustan Times Millions of parents and their children may soon no longer have to bear the risks associated with unregulated playschools with dubious teaching methods and crumbling infrastructure that often charge high fees but fail to deliver on promises. The human resource development (HRD) ministry, headed by newly appointed MM Pallam Raju, on Thursday got state governments to agree to expand the Right to Education Act (RTE) to cover preschools. Under...

-The Business Standard Clamp down on burning of waste, industrial smoke Come winter, and Delhi is wrapped in a blanket of smog. It isn’t pretty. Also, it poses grave environmental, health and transportation hazards. Winter seems to have come early this year, and so has the smog. The economic costs are considerable: the winter schedule of airlines and trains invariably goes haywire owing to poor visibility. People breathe in more particulate...

-The Economic Times There is a ray of hope for consumers facing difficulties in getting timely delivery of cooking gas cylinders as the oil ministry may increase the supply of subsidised LPG cylinders and iron out glitches in the supply system to calm tempers ahead of crucial assembly elections. The new oil minister, M Veerappa Moily, discussed the matter with top executives of state oil firms and senior bureaucrats on Tuesday, government...