-The Indian Express April 1 marked the third anniversary of the passage of the Right of Children for Free and Compulsory Education (RTE). There is little argument that the implementation of the RTE in these three years has been less than satisfactory. Deadlines for the enforcement of input norms - infrastructure, pupil-teacher ratios - have come and gone and potentially game-changing provisions, like 25 per cent reservation for economically weaker sections...

-The Hindu Around 200 survivors of the Bhopal gas disaster held demonstrations in front of the Dow Chemical's office in Vikroli in suburban Mumbai on Tuesday, demanding that the company take up the criminal, civilian and environmental liability of Union Carbide, which they now own. The demonstrators said they were protesting against Dow Chemical's continuing business in hazardous chemicals when the survivors were dying in Bhopal and the next generation was facing...

-The Telegraph Siliguri, April 7: If the panchayat system is dissolved and not replaced by newly elected bodies on time, at least three central schemes would come to a halt in the state, Jairam Ramesh said today. According to the Union rural development minister the national job scheme for villagers, which entails 100-days work for at least one member of a BPL family, would be hit the most. The other two schemes...

-PTI In view of unsatisfactory progress by schools in meeting the March 31 RTE deadline, an education forum today indicated moving to court for ensuring legal entitlement under the Act and demanded Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention in the matter. RTE Forum, a platform of national education networks and teachers, among others said they would demand that the Prime Minister convenes a meeting of chief ministers to ensure efficient implementation of...

-The Business Standard Politics means sugarcane gets Maharashtra's scarce water The drought in a large part of Maharashtra, said to be the worst since 1972, may have been triggered by poor rainfall in the last monsoon season - but it has been compounded by mismanagement of the available water. Nearly one-third of the state's population living in the 15 drought-hit districts in and around the Marathwada region is facing a severe scarcity...