-The Times of India NEW DELHI: CBSE schools will have to use NCERT textbooks from the 2017-18 academic session. The move to make National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) study materials mandatory for all Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) schools across the country is expected to standardise the curriculum across schools in the country. The decision was taken at a review meeting chaired by Union minister for human resource...

-The Tribune Demonetisation didn’t overly impact the sector, but devitalisation is a concern THERE has been a lot of speculation about the extent of damage due to demonetisation on agriculture. Small farmers suffered most because cash in hand means a lot to them. They were unable to pay for inputs like fertilisers, seeds and farm labour and experienced low demand for their perishable produce. The latest data from government’s agricultural ministry however...

-Hindustan Times The Supreme Court brought curtains on a decade-old litigation started by the families affected by the Sardar Sarovar project on Narmada River as it directed payment of final compensation to the oustees, also paving way for the dam to operate at its full capacity. A bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar ordered payment of Rs 60 lakh each to 681 families in Madhya Pradesh who did not receive compensation...

-The Hindu The Niti Aayog has called for a review of the provisions of the Right To Education Act that stipulate that children who don’t perform well cannot be held back up to class VIII. It said the good intention behind the norm is detrimental to the learning process. It has also suggested a system where direct benefit transfers offer the poor a choice between subsidised purchases or equivalent cash to buy...

-Scroll.in India’s first chief statistician, Pronab Sen, is now country director of the International Growth Centre, which seeks to build effective growth facilities through engagement between policymakers and researchers. In this interview to Scroll.in, he speaks on the 50 days of demonetisation, its failings, its severe impact on the poor, the loss of credibility of the Reserve Bank of India, the push to make India a cashless or less-cash economy, and...