-The Hindu A precise caste census is difficult, but the data will be useful to drive social policy The idea of a national caste census might be abhorrent when the stated policy is to strive for a casteless society, but it will be useful to establish statistical justification for preserving caste-based affirmative action programmes. It may also be a legal imperative, considering that courts want ‘quantifiable data’ to support the existing levels...

-MuslimMirror.com New Delhi: 31 Muslim students have cleared Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2020. Sadaf Choudhary who ranked 23, has SECured the highest rank among Muslim candidates. They constitute 4.07 per cent out of the total 761 successful candidates. The number of successful Muslim candidates has reduced this year in comparison to last year as a total of 42 had cleared the civil services exam in the 2019 batch. Shubham Kumar, an IIT Bombay...

-National Herald Reports that at least 42 sadhus or holy men have been murdered in different districts in Uttar Pradesh have sent shockwaves through the state. In most cases they seem to have been killed by disciples The death of Mahant Narendra Giri, President of Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP), and Mahant of Baghambri Gaddi Math in Prayagraj has opened a Pandora’s box. Sordid details of property, disproportionate assets, temple employees' lavish...

-Livemint.com * The latest Situation Assessment Survey adds to findings that reveal worsening agrarian distress * Our agricultural SECtor has been in a state of perpetual decline after 2012-13 and is reeling under such shocks as back-to-back droughts, demonetization and the covid-19 pandemic Earlier this month, the National Statistical Office released the Situation Assessment Survey (SAS) of agricultural households for the 2018-19 agricultural year, which runs from July to June. This is the...

-TheWire.in Women who have found themselves in charge of a family after the sudden deaths of family members find rules, regulations and laws making mockery of their situation. New Delhi: “He died months ago but the government reminds us of our loss everyday,” says Dipanwita Das, who lost her husband on April 25, 2021, at the height of the SECond wave of COVID-19. Das admitted her husband to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital as...