Inclusive Media for Change invites applications from media persons in English and Hindi for Inclusive Media - UNDP Fellowships 2015. The Fellowships are given to increase and sharpen media coverage of rural distress/ development and the issues of the marginalized people. The fellowships are aimed at promoting democratic social change, particularly through empowerment, participation, good governance and better understanding about media and the marginalised. The ideal candidates would be willing to...

-NDTV Gadgets 360 After massive public outcry, the government has withdrawn a draft proposal that would have drastically altered how WhatsApp and other communication services would operate. Here is your 10-point cheatsheet to this big story: * The proposal (for a National Encryption Policy) was released for public feedback without his knowledge, said IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, acknowledging that it was poorly worded, and is being reworked. * The minister also...

-Economic and Political Weekly After coming to power in 2014, the National Democratic Alliance government took several measures to dilute the pro-poor provisions of the Land Acquisition Act of 2013. Though it has backed down, several questions remain over the way the Modi government has dealt with the issue of land acquisition. Santosh Verma (santosh.econ@gmail.com) is at the Council for Social Development, New Delhi. Land acquisition—by private corporations or the state—has raised vital...

-The Hindu For a while now, Greenpeace has been in the cross hairs of the government, first under the UPA and now under the BJP, as it championed civil liberties and causes. Its activists have been prevented from travelling abroad. The non-governmental organisation (NGO) stands accused of concealing and mixing foreign contributions with local contributions. The latest step by the Ministry of Home Affairs simply cancelling Greenpeace’s registration was but an...

-Economic and Political Weekly There are basic methodological and conceptual problems with recent research that ends up arguing that private school education is more effective than public education. Such findings have obvious policy implications but it is critical that research that informs policy is based on a correct reading of facts, keeping the larger vision of education in mind. Recent research into the cost effectiveness of public education vis-à-vis private education concludes...