-The Telegraph A panel of experts has watered down a proposal by the UPA government to set up five minority universities, citing legal hurdles. The committee, headed by Indian Council of Social Science Research chairman Sukhadeo Thorat, has suggested that the institutions be set up as central universities with their focus on minorities, instead of minority institutions as proposed. The committee submitted its report to the minority affairs ministry last month, a senior...

-The Economic Times What is... Inequality has re-emerged as a core concern in developing and developed countries alike, thanks to the growing gap and frustration of a section of the middle class and the rich vis-a-vis the super rich. A World Bank Policy Research Working Paper (No. 6259) by Branko Milanovic shows that the incomes of the global top 1 per cent and the emerging middle classes in developing countries rose dramatically between...

-The Hindu Madurai: No end to doubts raised and clarifications provided with respect to the Act even after three years The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act 2009 stipulates that private schools reserve 25 per cent of seats at the entry level for children belonging to ‘disadvantaged groups' and ‘weaker sections'. The Central Act originally defined a ‘child belonging to a disadvantaged group' as one belonging to...

-The Hindu   They had sought inter alia universal social security cover for both organised and unorganised sectors Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said some of the demands raised by the various central trade unions, for which they organised a nationwide general strike for two days in February, were in advanced stage of consideration of the government. Those demands include universal social security cover for workers in both organised and unorganised sectors and...

-Countercurrents.org   The events of last over two decades have shown us, more than before that the efforts of dividing the nation by communal forces have been a major obstacle to social peace and process of development. In India while the communal violence began with the Jabalpur riot of 1961, it is from last couple of decades especially from 1980s that the divisive politics has tried to drive a wedge between different...