-Live Mint   Strong political commitment is needed to build a system of universal health coverage and better regulations   Life expectancy in India has more than doubled since independence, to 65 years, from just 32 in 1950. The infant mortality rate has been cut by two-thirds since 1971. Smallpox and guinea worm have been eradicated, the spread of HIV/AIDS has been contained, and the World Health Organization has declared India polio-free.   Yet for all...

-Down to Earth Apex court says toilets, drinking water facilities are integral to RTE Act; pulls up Andhra Pradesh government for not ensuring these facilities in its schools The Supreme Court has ruled that all schools must have separate toilets for boys and girls, and also facilities for water for drinking and other purposes. The court's May 9 verdict has made it clear that these were integral to Right of Children...

-The Times of India   Prem Das Rai, an MP from Sikkim, knew that development indicators from his state were exceptional. But his office didn't know how to showcase them. He reached out to Swaniti, a Delhi-based not-for-profit organization that has been working "consulting style" with parliamentarians. Their portal called Jigyasa aims to answer questions like Rai's. Rwitwika Bhattacharya, Swaniti's founder-CEO, was surprised at what they uncovered. "I always thought that the...

-The Times of India   Is wealth trickling up instead of down? Yes, says rockstar economist Thomas Piketty whose new book proposing a wealth tax on the super rich has sparked off a firestorm. Excerpts from an exclusive interview... His book Capital in the Twenty-First Century has put the spotlight on Thomas Piketty, transforming the Paris School of Economics professor to global superstar. In these troubled times, he highlights a troubling issue:...

-The Hindu     The state must remain in higher education as the private sector is yet to demonstrate its capacity to create knowledge on a sufficient scale The impending inauguration of a new government finds interested parties bringing into the public arena matters of importance to them. One of the issues that has been raised recently is whether higher education in India should be privatised. This question merits serious attention. And though interest...