-The Hindu The absence of playgrounds and electricity in govt. schools speaks poorly of policy priorities It should rank as an Irony that as a founder-leader of the International Solar Alliance, India has not yet electrified a significant number of government schools, while extolling the elegance and virtue of photovoltaic electricity to the rest of the world. The lack of power in schools is taken note of by the Parliamentary Standing Committee...

-Scroll.in Non-profit organisations will now have to renew their registrations under the Income Tax Act every five years. On February 1, when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the Budget in Parliament, she presented a number of amendments under the Finance Bill 2020. Some of these alter the validity of registrations granted to Indian non-governmental organisations. The Bill, which will come into effect on June 1, amends certain sections under the Income Tax...

-The Telegraph The plight of an ‘indigenous foreigner' comes as a horrifying reminder of what lies in store As the country heaved over protests surrounding universities and an amended citizenship law this month, a tragic contour unfolded in Assam with the death of a daily wager belonging to an indigenous community. Naresh Koch, who was apprehended and taken to the Goalpara detention centre in March 2018, was declared a “foreigner” in June...

-Outlook India A district collector takes it upon himself to rid the region of a degrading practice visited upon sick children—the scourge of daagna Umaria, Madhya Pradesh, goes to sleep at 7 pm. Or the roads give that impression—quiet and enchantingly deserted. The young (it was carved out of Shahdol in 1998) and small district is also home to Bandhavgarh National Park. Umaria also has a prevalent malpractice, called daagna, which has its...

-The Hindu While opening up the coal mining sector, the govt. must protect the interests of Coal India The Centre’s decision to liberalise norms for entry into coal mining and relax regulations on mining and selling coal in the country is significant in many respects. Amendments to two legacy Acts through the Mineral Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2020 cleared by the Cabinet on Wednesday will free the sector from restrictions that were inhibiting...