-IDROnline.org/ TheWire.in "The problem with Indian democracy is that despite the presence of millions of voters, the pool of decision makers get smaller and narrower at the top." Aruna Roy is a social activist and founder of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS). Her work and leadership led to the enactment of the Right to Information (RTI) Act 2005—a landmark act that empowers citizens to demand transparency and accountability from government institutions....

--Press release by the National Coalition on the Education Emergency (NCEE) dated January 29, 2022 An education emergency of unprecedented proportions has severely impacted hundreds of millions of children in India. Prolonged school closures have caused learning deprivation, student dropout, increased child labour, malnutrition, and early marriages that are compromising the future of our country. It is time to open schools and massively increase funding of public education with a clear focus...

-The Tribune Plan to end waterlogging on 1 lakh acres in current year Rohtak: The state authorities have pulled up their socks to tackle the problem of waterlogging in agricultural fields, which has been causing heavy losses to farmers for several years. The Haryana Government has prepared schemes involving a total expenditure of Rs 221 crore to siphon the water accumulated in the fields and reuse it. During a meeting with Additional Chief SECretary...

-TheWire.in/ The Reporters' Collective * Excess deaths in Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh were over 12-times the corresponding official COVID-19 death toll until early January 2022. * Data from across the country suggests governments are undercounting COVID-19 deaths by the lakhs, possibly to avoid the charge of epidemic mismanagement. * As a result, facilitated by disparate protocols, poor record-keeping and red-tape, thousands of families haven’t received the compensation they are due. Last year, just as...

-The Hindu Policy efforts to formalise the economy will have limited results as the bulk of informal units are petty producers Since 2016, the Government has made several efforts to formalise the economy. Currency demonetisation, introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), digitalisation of financial transactions and enrolment of informal SECtor workers on numerous government Internet portals are all meant to encourage the formalisation of the economy. But why the impetus...