-Outlook Freelance journalists, especially in small towns, are paying dearly for speaking up Ground Down * Uttar Pradesh: Jagendra Singh burnt in his own house ‘by policemen’ after he reported against the state’s PWD minister * Madhya Pradesh: Sandeep Kothari abducted after reporting on illegal mining. Burnt body found in Maharashtra * Uttar Pradesh: Haider Khan beaten, tied to a bike and dragged in PILibhit after reporting on land-grabbing * J&K: Javed Malik assaulted by...

-TheWire.in In recent years, NGOs have become increasingly involved in supplying meals to schools as part of the government’s midday meal scheme, particularly in large urban areas. Akshaya Patra is the largest of these, currently working in 10 states, feeding 1.4 million children each day. Centralised kitchens are vast and impressive. Huge quantities of food are produced in a mechanised manner and in hygienic conditions. The shiny kitchens contrast starkly with...

-The Times of India RAIPUR: Farmers in Kanker region in tribal Bastar are being trained by the government to cultivate itch-free varieties of yam which could be grown on barren portions on land providing them a source income. State agriculture department has tested soil in the area and found it suitable for cultivating yam. Local farmers are provided itch-free variety and being sent groups of 10 to Bilaspur to learn method of...

-Business Standard Why the public-private partnership model in education doesn't get a show of hands from its naysayers   Jaipur   July 8, 1 pm: Around 500 school teachers were protesting outside the building of Shiksha Sankul, which houses the various educational departments in the state. They burnt effigies of the education minister, demanding the Vasundhara Raje-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government withdraw the order on increased man-days. The teaching fraternity wanted the government to revisit...

-Business Standard Letting states pass their own law could come in conflict with provisions in the land law of 2013 The Union government's proposal for states to have their own land acquisition laws that may pull down any or all the four PILlars of the 2013 Land Acquisition Act could run in to an unprecedented legal hurdle. The 2013 law the United Progressive Alliance government had passed hinges on four PILlars - consent,...