-The Hindu Confining it to just the Ministry of Rural Development would be the most retrograde step in democratic decentralisation in over a quarter century. If, as The Hindu’s exclusive on Wednesday indicates, Prime Minister Narendra Modi were to close down the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, it would confirm one’s worst fears about his government’s hypocritical approach to grass-roots democracy for grass-roots development. This was a lacuna that was evident in the ‘Gujarat...

-Livemint.com Have inequalities in educational access in India diminished in recent times? An NSSO survey offers some clues Education has for long been the key to moving up the economic and social ladder. There can be no equality of opportunity without access to quality education. Have inequalities in educational access in India diminished in recent times? The National Sample Survey Organisation’s (NSSO) most recent survey on education (71st round) conducted during...

-The Hindu Business Line The priority for this government is to promote the medical care market, not ensure universal healthcare for the majority Those at the helm of policymaking in the country have been, for some time, strongly advocating austerity as the principle for public expenditure policies, particularly for the social sectors. Arvind Panagariya, the vice-chairperson of the NITI Aayog, suggests that “for just three-quarters of a per cent of the GDP”, 0.76...

-Livemint.com NSSO report shows that private schools are preferred over government schools due to better quality education New Delhi: While presenting the budget for Delhi last month, finance minister Manish Sisodia announced an expenditure of Rs.102 crore on training of teachers and principals in the new fiscal year. This was just Rs.9.4 crore last year. Sisodia said his aim was to bring government schools to world class standards in Delhi. While...

-The Times of India AHMEDABAD: The recently released United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) report on child marriages shows that Gujarat, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Telangana have high prevalence of child marriages. The report, "Reducing Child Marriage in India A Model to Scale up Results", mentions Gujarat's Patan among districts with highest numbers of child marriages in India, along with other such districts from states like Bihar, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Telangana....