-Business Standard Proposals are in public domain for consultation with stakeholders, coaching institutes are unhappy with suggestion of a watchdog Like Gopal, the hapless protagonist of Chetan Bhagat's bestselling novel Revolution 2020, thousands of students spend fortunes every year at coaching classes, hoping to get through a premier engineering college. The Rs 2.4 lakh crore unregulated segment could, however, soon be under the watchful eyes of a regulator, if the Ashok Misra committee...

-Economic and Political Weekly Chennai floods show the vulnerabilities that arise from the neglect of urban planning. In the second week of November, flood-marooned people in Chennai had an unlikely Good Samaritan. The cab service provider, Ola. As the city struggled to come to terms with its highest rainfall in 10 years, the cab company pressed in boats from an aquatic adventure outfit and secured the services of professional rowers and fishworkers...

-Business Standard Drop in wheat acreage evidence of stress in agriculture Chandigarh: Two consecutive drought years have led to rural distress in the food bowl states. At some places, this has become even worse due to the attack of the white pest. Sahiblal Shukla, a farmer in Chitrakut in Uttar Pradesh , who has spent his lifetime in ploughing fields says that, “farmers in Bundelkhand area of the state may soon pack their...

-Scroll.in Rajasthan has drafted a progressive policy that includes a broader definition of homeless people. But it falls short on other counts. Rajasthan could soon become the first Indian state to draft a policy for the homeless. This could be a historic moment as homelessness is a public health crisis in India. It is caused by the negligence of the government since policies and funds for building shelters that ensure that homeless...

-Hindustan Times A group of Delhi University students is arranging professional training for over 20 transgender people to help make them financially independent.   The group of students from Ramjas College have roped in experts to train members of the transgender community in jewellery making under a project called ‘Transcreation’.   “We contacted some NGOs who work with transgender community and started working with them. We want to empower the community and for that the...