-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government is considering a ban on opinion polls with the notification of Lok Sabha elections in line with the views of the election commission. The proposed ban may be implemented before the dates of the parliamentary elections, likely to be held in April-May, are announced. In its draft legislation on debarring charged MPs/MLAs from contesting elections, the law ministry has included a provision that provides...

-The Hindu     Educationists emphasise importance of public participation Chennai: The Right to Education (RTE) Act guarantees children a place in school but it requires political will and public participation in running schools and sensitive bureaucrats who understand the needs of children to make it effective, say education activists. At a discussion organised by The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy here on Wednesday, eminent persons associated with children's education spoke of the...

-The Hindu Amid reports in a section of the media that the Government was reconsidering its policy that disallows news programmes on private FM channels, Union Information & Broadcasting Ministry Secretary Bimal Julka on Tuesday said no decision as such had been taken as yet. According to Mr. Julka, the policy was being looked at in the wake of the Supreme Court's notice to the Centre on a Public Interest writ petition...

-The Indian Express     Policy design should worry less about public versus private, and more about choice and accountability. The most noteworthy aspect of the Aam Aadmi Party's manifesto is the explicit focus on service delivery. This is what its government will be evaluated on, and attention has shifted from the AAP's political success to how it will deliver on these promises. The ideas below reflect learnings from over a decade of research...

-The Hindustan Times Misunderstandings about the World Trade Organization (WTO) are pervasive. The media coverage of the recent WTO meetings at Bali has added to the confusion. The bone of contention was the government procurement of the food grains in India under the National Food Security Act. The final outcome is a stopgap arrangement that has bought the Indian government some time; most importantly, it does not have to undertake any...