-The Hindu Officers are the backbone as files, documents and orders are processed by them Nearly 30% positions are vacant in middle to senior management rank in various Central Government Ministries as the Union Government has not promoted officials of the Central Secretariat Service (CSS) in the past six years. The employees have petitioned the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to issue promotion orders as many officials have retired in these years,...

-The Telegraph The state’s expert advisers assert that the earlier lower counts were not deliberate but the outcome of a lack of clear definition of Covid-19 deaths Bangalore: A paradoxical rise in Kerala’s Covid-19 mortality rate despite a shrinking epidemic ahead of omicron’s emergence reflects diligent death auditing under political pressure, public demand and good record-keeping lacking in other states, health experts have said. The auditing efforts had till Monday added over 16,900...

-The Hindu By closing schools for this long and providing just online education, we have violated children’s rights About three weeks ago, we all wished each other a happy 2022. However, that has remained wishful thinking with the Omicron variant of COVID-19 upending our lives. More than Omicron itself, which is more transmissible than Delta but far milder, the response to the variant in terms of the restrictions that have been imposed...

-The Hindu It is astonishing that public expenditure data on the education sector are not easily available In the current Budget session, how much money the Central and State Governments will allocate to education and for what purpose should be a matter of public concern and debate. Even before the pandemic, public spending on education in most States was below that of other middle-income countries. Most major States spent in the range...

-Newsclick.in Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board rejects data provided by the Centre for Holistic Development. More than 140 homeless people in Delhi have died due to the extreme cold so far, highlighting the urgent need for providing shelter to people living on the road. “So far, 145 homeless people in Delhi have died,” Sunil Kumar Aledia, executive director, Centre for Holistic Development (CHD), told Newsclick over the phone on Monday. Backing its claim...