-The Hindu The 15th Finance Commission has to take a call on the degree of equalisation that’s feasible In the context of the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the 15th Finance Commission (FFC), certain key aspects relate to (a) the mandate for using the 2011 population; (b) ‘whether revenue deficit grants’ be given at all; (c) the impact of the goods and services tax (GST) on the finances of the Centre and...

-Business Standard From occupying 3% of all sugarcane area in the state in 2012-13, the variety that now covers 52% New Delhi: India’s sugar sector is staring at an unprecedented glut, with production topping 31 million tonnes. Sugar is suddenly tasting bitter as mills are finding it difficult to pay sugarcane farmers in the politically sensitive state of Uttar Pradesh. At the heart of the surplus lies a new variety of sugarcane called CO-0238,...

-Civil Society News New Delhi: People’s movements represent multiple hopes and efforts. As they stretch over time, who did what and when or how something happened or didn’t gets forgotten. Chroniclers are needed, but hard to find. If they come from within it is most likely they won’t be objective and if they are on the outside chances are that empathy and understanding will be missing. The right to information movement...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Ayurveda, unani or homoeopathy healers cannot practise without getting themselves officially registered, the Supreme Court has ruled while expressing concern at quacks "playing with lives". Practitioners of alternative medicine need to be registered under the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, for which they are required to obtain a degree or diploma from a recognised institution teaching these courses. "Earlier, there were very few institutions imparting teaching and training to...

-Livemint.com Use of population figures from 2011 census instead of 1971 census for sharing tax revenue among states triggers opposition from South India New Delhi: A political storm is brewing in South India over what is normally a largely unnoticed bureaucratic exercise undertaken once in five years to determine how India distributes its pooled tax revenues among its many states. Several chief ministers and opposition leaders of southern states have expressed vehement opposition...