-Hindustan Times New Delhi: Almost a quarter of India’s 370,000 beggars are Muslims, newly released data from the 2011 Census show, reinforcing that the community still lags behind on most counts despite the country’s rapid economic growth. Muslims, the largest minority who make up 14.2% of India’s 1.25-billion population, come out pretty much at the bottom of most socio-economic indices, even a decade after a high-level government probe into their historical disadvantages...

-Livemint.com This preference for spending on religious services than sanitation extends across income and spatial divides Cleanliness is next to godliness—or so we are told. In India, cleanliness actually ranks several notches below godliness on the priority list. A recent report by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) shows that Indians are willing to spend more on religious services than on sanitation, irrespective of spatial and income divide. The survey, findings of which...

-Livemint.com Bus most common mode of transport; more people stay with friends and relatives, shows NSSO data If you travel by air or stay in hotels during your domestic jaunts, you are not a typical Indian tourist. The bus is the most common mode of transport and more people stay with friends and relatives during such trips than in hotels and guest houses, according to a National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO)...

-Governance Now The draft for the eagerly awaited new Education Policy recommends amendments in the right to free and compulsory education Act 2009. Among its specific recommendations are:   * The no detention policy must be continued for children until completion of class 5. * At the upper primary level, the system of detention shall be restored subject to the provision of remedial coaching and at least two extra chances being offered to...

-PTI New Delhi: A network of voluntary organisations under the banner of Wada Na Todo Abhiyan (WNTA) in its report today claimed that there had been no progress on anti-corruption laws in the country and that there have been concerted attempt to undermine existing legislations and mechanisms. The Report titled 'Citizens report on 2nd year of NDA government: Promises and Reality', on the performance of Narendra Modi led NDA government which is...