-The Hindu In an atmosphere of mistrust of the government, only an independent safety regulatory mechanism can counter the scaremongering against civilian nuclear power I work at an institution funded by the Department of Atomic Energy (which, however, does no nuclear research: the DAE funds a wide variety of institutions and areas in science). About a year ago, I had an e-mail from a journalist who wondered why scientists (including colleagues at...

-The Times of India panAJI: Following the adverse report by the Shah commission on illegal mining in Goa, the Union environment and forests minister Jayanthi Natarajan on Wednesday announced the suspension of environment clearances given to all 93 functional mining leases in the state. The orders came a day after TOI's story on how the central government had given illegal clearances to Goa's iron ore mines even under PM Manmohan Singh's watch...

-The Times of India The inter-ministerial group (IMG) reviewing coal block allocations that have been questioned by the federal auditor for being allotted arbitrarily could not complete its proceedings and is expected to meet again on Friday. The IMG meeting could not complete its case-by-case assessment of 29 blocks allotted to private firms with the response of the private players being considered against the terms they are alleged to have violated. Sources said...

-The Economic Times The government has revived its efforts to get Trinamool Congress on board its plans to ease foreign investment rules for civil aviation and muti-brand retail. Civil aviation minister Ajit Singh is expected to discuss the issue of allowing foreign airlines to buy stake in Indian carriers with chief minister Mamata Banerjee on September 14. Government leaders had tried to work out a consensus on the two issues at the...

-The Telegraph An NCERT survey has found children from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes lagging behind in education at the primary school level amid a national debate on reservation in promotions for them. The National Achievement Survey, conducted to evaluate the learning achievement of Class V students, found SC/ST students underperforming compared to general students (see chart). Over a lakh students from 6,602 schools in 27 states and four Union Territories were...