-Live Mint UPA govt hasn't succeeded in improving learning outcomes in India's schools, says the report New Delhi: Despite levying a tax to fund education and enacting a law to ensure access to education for all children between the ages of 6 and 14, the government hasn't succeeded in improving learning outcomes in India's schools, according to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) published on Wednesday. The quality of learning-as measured...

-Economic and Political Weekly The continuing deaths of infants and children due to malnutrition in Attappady, the only tribal block in Kerala, reflects the state government's apathy towards addressing issues germane to the tribals residing in the region. Manikandan A.D (alungal09@gmail.com) is a PhD candidate at School of International Relations and Politics, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, and ICSSR Institutional Doctoral Fellow at the Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS), Nizamiah...

-Outlook After a row over implementation of a expert committee report, the Centre has ruled out appointment of any more panel to study Western Ghats in an attempt to address concerns of the six states through which the ecologically-sensitive hills traverse. Environment Minister M Veerappa Moily said the states concerned should appoint committees respectively to assess the kind of activities that could be allowed in the tract. After the committees submit their...

-The Hindu "Make Pravasi Baratiya Divas more democratic, inclusive" Representatives of migrant, domestic worker and human rights organisations, besides trade unions, held a demonstration at Jantar Mantar here on Tuesday to demand that the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) be made more democratic, representative and inclusive. Stating that the PBD should be made a platform for discussing the problems of labour diaspora and that its agenda should include issues of migrant workers, the protestors...

-Live Mint India needs to move away from wild swings in making environment policies The Western Ghats, spread over six states in western and southern India, cover an area of approximately 165,000 sq. km. They are home to a unique ecosystem in the country that is under threat from human activities. Nearly 59% of this area has been exploited: habitation, plantation or agriculture. Only 41% of the area is a natural...