-The Telegraph The Narendra Modi government's decision to abolish the National Development Council is a further blow against the federal structure of our republic. True, the NDC did not have a constitutional status, and differed in this respect from the Inter-State Council, whose activation was often demanded by the Left, precisely because it was a constitutional body, for deciding inter alia on the composition and terms of reference of finance commissions....

-The Hindu Nauroti Devi, who never went to a school, uses a computer for village administration. VISAKHAPATNAM: Nauroti would hardly draw any attention from a passerby except maybe her traditional pallu over the head might draw a curious stare in South India. A Dalit who never went to school, after being elected sarpanch of Harmada village in Kishangarh Tehsil in Ajmer district of Rajasthan, she trained the government employee panchayat SECretary on how...

-The Indian Express Among other crimes, robbery and cheating with 22 cases each are among the most common. New Delhi: Sexual offences form 13 per cent, or roughly one-eighth, of the crimes committed against foreigners in India while thefts are four times higher, government data reveal. The latest case of sexual offence being probed is the alleged stripping and assault of a Tanzanian student in Bengaluru. Last year, National Crime Records Bureau...

-The Telegraph Bhubaneswar: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik's flagship programme of rice distribution at Re 1 per kg might run into rough weather if the Centre continues to send more wheat instead of rice as required by the state under the National Food SECurity Act. Concerned at the development, the chief minister has shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to allocate more rice under the act instead of...

-The Hindu There will be a unified national database of beneficiaries that can be updated in real-time and automatically trigger new benefits. The government has drawn up an ambitious plan to scale up the present regime for direct transfer of benefits to the poor under various welfare schemes, by creating a unified national database of beneficiaries that can be updated in real-time and automatically trigger new benefits such as vaccine shots for...