-CivilSocietyOnline.com   Cunoor (Tamil Nadu): The holidays have begun but children arrive at the Denalai Upper Primary School, giggling and whispering excitedly. They have come to proudly flaunt their organic kitchen garden where they grow vegetables and herbs for the school's midday meal. Nestled in the Nilgiris, the school has 38 students. Most of them belong to Denalai, a Baduga village. The Badugas are a tribal community, primarily cultivators, who are known...

-Live Mint   Building toilets holds the key to reducing India's malnutrition burden Commenting on the Indian elections in his satire show, British humorist John Oliver remarked, "(Narendra) Modi has managed to inspire people with his populist platform including a pledge to put a toilet in every home. That's a bold move, coming out as pro-toilet." Oliver's wisecrack may have deliberately exaggerated Narendra Modi's pitch on toilets but the focus on sanitation has been...

-The Hindustan Times   Minority-run schools cannot be forced to implement the Right to Education Act, 2009, that mandates 25% reservation for economically disadvantaged children in all schools, the Supreme Court ruled. A five-judge constitution bench headed by CJI RM Lodha clarified that a 2010 judgement, which held that the RTE Act, 2009 was applicable to aided minority schools was "not correct". "In our view, if the 2009 Act is made applicable to minority...

-BBC   Delhi: A record number of people have taken part in India's general election, now in its home stretch with just one round of voting left before results are announced on 16 May. Part of the reason for the increase in turnout in the five-week-long polls, which began on 7 April, can be attributed to the Election Commission for successfully encouraging more women and low-caste Indians to vote. But many remain excluded. Because Indians...

-The Hindustan Times     Amritsar (Punjab): There is a unique sense of sereneness and tranquility that prevails over the Bhagat Puran Singh farm, run by All India Pingalwara Charitable Society (AIPCS), around 20 km from here. There are ten women and seven other workers, who are busy handling various jobs in pin-drop silence. All you can hear is the birds chirping, calf bawls, cow moos and cat meows. The courteous staff at the...