-NDTV Hyderabad: The already-flooded regions of coastal Andhra Pradesh - districts like Vizianagaram and Srikakulam - will continue to be beaten by heavy rain over the next 24 hours, says the MeT department. More than 20 people have died in the last five days, the savage after-effect of Cyclone Nilam that hit last Wednesday. Initially, the Andhra Pradesh government had said Cyclone Nilam was in fact good news for the state because...

-The Economic Times The thick smog that settled over Delhi last Sunday is showing no signs of dissipating and has, in fact, intensified. Sunday was touted as the worst day of the week in terms of air quality as the general visibility did not go over 800m through the day and averaged about 400m. The Met department confirmed that agricultural fires in Punjab were contributing to about 20-30% of the pollution...

-MoneyLife.in If you were wondering why most of the recent major cases of corruption have not been exposed by opposition parties, especially the BJP, now you have the answer: they are all in it together. I am ready for any inquiry,” repeated Nitin Gadkari on every television channel where he brazenly defended the dubious shell companies and land allotment that propelled the growth of his ballooning ‘social entrepreneurship’. The irony is that Nitin...

-Outlook To protect BPL families from possible price rise, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today gave its approval for selling imported pulses and edible oil at subsidised rates through ration shops. The CCEA also approved an outlay of Rs 884 crore for computerisation of public distribution system (PDS) that is aimed at, among other things, elimination of bogus ration cards. Announcing the decisions, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said, "The CCEA today...

-Economic and Political weekly Drawing on the research on basic education in West Bengal, this essay argues the case for a much criticised public education system, which needs to be reconsidered as regards its potential as a provider of quality education, even while addressing its many failings. The essay follows an approach, both critical and constructive, that underlines the collective onus of the public in realising the value of the public...