Since early November, Delhi and large parts of North India have been enveloped in a thick, grey smog, sparking concerns and a debate on what is leading to the rising levels of air pollution. A January 2012 paper by Ridhima Gupta from the Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi is drawing linkages between the quality of air in the capital and agricultural practices during harvest season on farms in the neighbouring state...

(Application deadline Monday December 31, 2012) Inclusive Media for Change, a CSDS-based initiative invites applications from journalists in English and Hindi for Inclusive Media Fellowships 2012-13. The Fellowships are given to bring spotlight on Rural Development and to promote democratic social change, particularly through empowerment, decentralization, convergence and good use of existing development schemes by Panchayats and local bodies. The Inclusive Media for Change runs a clearing house of ideas, information...

-Outlook The government today ruled out extension of the deadline for enforcing the Right to Education Act beyond March 2013 as several states are yet to achieve the RTE standards for school infrastructure. HRD minister M M Pallam Raju said that while Bihar Education Minister demanded the need for extending RTE deadline some other Education Ministers did not support such an extension. Talking to reporters following the conclusion of the Central Advisory Board...

-DNA The government on Thursday said the deadline for implementing the Right to Education Act would not be extended beyond March. At the 60th central advisory board of education meeting, newly-appointed HRD minister Pallam Raju said he was ‘committed’ to meeting the RTE 2013 deadline in coming March. “We should not dilute the Act. Even though some states have said that they are not prepared, we owe it to the future generations to...

-Live Mint Charges that NREGA has pushed up agricultural wages fails to account for changing productivity In the debate over the costs and benefits of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), one of the most controversial and unsettled issues is its effect on agricultural labour market. Last year, Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar even went to the extent of recommending a 50% subsidy to farmers in wage costs due...