Unless data gathering for the Socio Economic and Caste Census is refined, the exercise could cast out the real claimants. Have the census enumerators recently knocked on your door with swanky tablet computers in hand? If they have, it's because they have begun to go door-to-door in most States to complete the final phase of the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC). This mammoth exercise is being coordinated by more than...

All schools, barring unaided minority institutions, will have to set aside 25 per cent of their seats for disadvantaged sections in the neighbourhood, the Supreme Court ruled today. The top court settled the question by upholding the relevant clause in the right to education law, saying that “advancement of education is a recognised head of charity” and rejecting a slew of petitions filed by several unaided schools. Since the act deals with...

-PTI A professor of chemistry at the Jadhavpur University was today arrested for allegedly spreading derogatory messages against "respectable people" through the internet. "Professor Ambikesh Mohapatra has been arrested for spreading derogatory messages against respectable persons," Deputy Commissioner of Kolkata Police (south suburban division) Sujoy Chanda said. He, however, refused to divulge the names of the 'respectable persons' who have been defamed in the e-mail. He was arrested and taken to the...

An unnecessary controversy has been started by the release of the poverty estimates of 2009-10 by the planning commission. The controversy, which was entirely avoidable, was allowed to go on because of the Poor handling of the issue by the planning commission. It is unfortunate that the planning commission was less than willing to own the Tendulkar committee report which was submitted in December 2009 and accepted by the commission...

-The United Nations The number of people with dementia is projected to double to 65.7 million by 2030, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) said today, noting that lack of diagnosis remains a major problem even in high-income countries, where only a fifth to half of cases are routinely recognized. Treating and caring for the estimated 35.6 million with dementia at present costs the world more than $604 billion per year,...