-The Hindu The massive pollution cloud enveloping northern India every year is a good example of the disconnect between official policy and ground realities. It has been known for long that burning of agricultural waste in the northern States significantly contributes to the poor air quality in large parts of the Indo-Gangetic Basin, with local and cascading impacts felt from Punjab all the way to West Bengal. Harmful fine particulate matter...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Centre plans to track every student enrolled in every private or government school in the country by their Aadhaar numbers to keep tabs on dropout rates. Those among the 26 crore students who do not have Aadhaar cards will be given a unique 18-digit number by which they will be tracked till they get their Aadhaar numbers. The idea behind the ID-based tracking system is to log the...

-The Indian Express The Allahabad High Court has scrapped the user fee on the Delhi-Noida Direct (DND) Flyway, saying the concessionaire has already recovered its ‘reasonable’ dues. Allahabad High Court last week scrapped the toll levied on commuters using the Delhi-Noida Direct (DND) Flyway, a major traffic artery connecting southeast Delhi with Noida across the Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh. A subsequent bid by the Noida Toll Bridge Company Ltd (NTBCL) — the...

-The Hindu New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday sought the Centre’s response on a plea that government should take measures to ensure that the National Anthem is respected, including that it should be sung only in front of persons who either understand it or are instructed about its meaning. A Bench led by Justice Dipak Misra sought the Centre’s stand on a PIL petition filed by Shyam Narayan Chouskey seeking a...

-PTI Directs Maharashtra Chief Secretary to look into the issue Mumbai: The Bombay High Court today expressed dissatisfaction over Maharashtra government’s lack of sensitivity in addressing the increasing number of malnutrition deaths in tribal areas of the State. Hearing a host of Public Interest Litigations (PILs) regarding malnourished children in the Melghat region of Vidarbha and other tribal areas, a Division Bench headed by Justice V. M. Kanade directed the Maharashtra Chief Secretary...