-Down to Earth Since its launch in 2016, India’s flagship crop insurance scheme has seen a consistent fall in acreage and number of farmers covered Even if a single farmer’s crop is damaged in a village he will get the benefits of insurance  - Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said while launching the Government’s flagship Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) from Madhya Pradesh in 2016. The words, however, mean nothing to the farmers...

-Hindustan Times The ministry of social justice and empowerment on February 17 updated the mandatory condition for the scholarship. Students from marginalised sections of society will no longer be able to study Indian culture, heritage, history and social studies under the Government’s national overseas scholarship programme, a move that has been criticised by the teaching fraternity and the opposition Congress party. “The Government should steer clear of deciding the choice of the topics...

-Press statement by the National Coalition on the Education Emergency (NCEE) dated February 21, 2022 We note, with deep concern and anguish, the active prevention of muslim women from attending Government schools and colleges, on the grounds that they wear the hijab, a headscarf. This move violates not just the fundamental rights of these women, including those of freedom (Article 19, 25) and equality (Article 14), but also their right to...

-The Telegraph The proposal to create NRF to support the projects in universities, colleges and other institutions is yet to be approved by the Union cabinet A plan by the Narendra Modi Government to bolster India’s research competence through a new agency for which the Union finance minister had last year pledged Rs 50,000 crore over five years remains unapproved and unfunded. The proposal to create a National Research Foundation (NRF) to support...

-The New Indian Express Having a uniform rate will also be convenient in terms of calculations and indexation in one go for the entire country rather than different States/UTs bringing in their own dynamics, the report said NEW DELHI:  A parliamentary standing committee has flagged the disparity in wage rates in various states under the rural employment scheme MGNREGS, calling it baffling and unjustified. While in states like Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Jharkhand, the...