-DNA The gap between policy and practice and how practice with its detailed knowledge of implementation can enrich policy was discussed at the 60th meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) held in New Delhi. The meeting, a first since the change in guard at the ministry of human resource development, was ‘enriching’ according to HRD minister Pallam Raju. Some proposed legislations that might become policies and a review of...

-The Indian Express Balimukh village, Morigaon: For 11-year-old Jesmina Begum, daughter of Abdul Motin of Atigaon, a village in the flood-ravaged Morigaon district in central Assam, commuting to school has become not only difficult but also dangerous in the recent weeks. “We know that five children drowned in a boat capsize on Tuesday. But what to do? We can’t stop going to school,” Jesmina said. The floods have washed away the road to...

-The Indian Express An IIM-Ahmedabad analysis of education and employment amongst Muslims in the country has concluded that the minority community has a higher perception of “unfairness” and “discrimination” and that Muslims have, in fact, a stronger case for reservations than the Hindu OBCs. Incidentally, a Central government notification in December 2011 to effect 4.5 per cent minority quota in Central educational institutes was stayed by the Andhra Pradesh High Court earlier...

-The Economist A new form of radical centrist politics is needed to tackle inequality without hurting economic growth BY THE end of the 19th century, the first age of globalisation and a spate of new inventions had transformed the world economy. But the “Gilded Age” was also a famously unequal one, with America’s robber barons and Europe’s “Downton Abbey” classes amassing huge wealth: the concept of “conspicuous consumption” dates back to 1899....

-The Economic Times A new book by Bibek Debroy on Gujarat looks at how this much-talked about state has performed in economic terms. The author argues history, luck and administrative clarity have been the determining factors. There has been a discernible pickup in Gujarat's growth performance since the 10th Plan (2002-07), the five-year Plans being natural periods for breaking up the timeline. It's tempting to argue that there is nothing exceptional in...