-The Hindu The Delhi High Court order dismissing a challenge to the Bus Rapid Transit System in the national capital is praiseworthy for its assertion that the urban commons, represented by road space, is a public good. The judgment correctly observes that governments pursue the principal purpose of promoting welfare of the maximum number of people, rather than distributing public goods in a restrictive manner. Delightfully, the court makes short work...

-The Times of India UPA's National Food Security Bill is facing resistance from not just opposition parties and other expected quarters such as the Trinamool Congress, but also a crucial ally, Samajwadi Party. Uttar Pradesh CM, Akhilesh Yadav, in a two-page letter to PM Manmohan Singh has said that the bill in its present form won't benefit Poorer states and should be amended.  For the UPA, which is already beset with pending...

-Outlook Rising income levels in rural areas have led to an unprecedented demand for protein-based food items, leading to sustained pressure in headline inflation, says a Crisil report. "Rising incomes in rural areas are fuelling greater spends on protein products such as milk, eggs and meat in the hinterland. Overall spending in the country on protein food doubled to Rs 2 lakh crore in 2009-10 from 2004-05. Two-thirds, or Rs 1.33 trillion,...

-ANI Tokyo University has offered a scholarship to a student of the Patna-based 'Super 30' coaching institute. 'Super-30' is a highly progressive and innovative educational programme functioning under the auspices of the Ramanujam School of Mathematics. It selects 30 meritorious children from economically backward sections of the society and academically prepares them to join the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). Tokyo University Director Hiroshi Yoshino said he would love to invite students of Super...

-The Hindu One in eight people, or 12.5 per cent of the world’s population, is chronically undernourished today says the latest State of Food Insecurity (SOFI) report. The grave ethical and practical implications of this abominable statistic from the three Rome-based United Nations agencies are obvious. Not least because mass hunger is a man-made phenomenon. Historically, hunger and starvation have been caused not by shortfalls in food production but rather by...