-The Hindu The Government’s claim that the PM CARES Fund is not a public authority is unacceptable It may not be an exaggeration to say that when it comes to seeking answers and information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is consistent in putting up a screen. The manner in which the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund was set...

-The Tribune The farmers’ protests reflect the western region’s pre-election zeitgeist Uttar pradesh’s regions spanning the west, east, centre and Bundelkhand, exist in silos, each with their own preoccupations and concerns conditioned by economics, geography and demography. However, come an election, political imperatives transcend the distinctive characteristics. UP votes as one state, and has lately, rooted for a single party or coalition. The fractured verdicts that threw UP into disarray in the...

-Business Standard Centre assessing appropriate price at which subsidy should resume The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is evaluating a threshold at which the subsidy on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG or cooking gas) will be reinstated. According to a senior government official in the know, a survey is currently being conducted to determine the price at which maximum consumers will keep buying domestic cylinders. One of the options also being considered...

-Hindustan Times In the states ruled by the BJP, elaborate security arrangements have been made to prevent farmer bodies and opposition parties to disrupt normal life. Additional security forces have been deployed in all districts in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Bihar. The 10-hour Bharat Bandh on Monday may disrupt road and rail traffic in states ruled by opposition parties as they are supporting the call for a general strike...

-The Hindu A precise caste census is difficult, but the data will be useful to drive social policy The idea of a national caste census might be abhorrent when the stated policy is to strive for a casteless society, but it will be useful to establish statistical justification for preserving caste-based affirmative action programmes. It may also be a legal imperative, considering that courts want ‘quantifiable data’ to support the existing levels...