-Economic and Political weekly Drawing on the research on basic education in West Bengal, this essay argues the case for a much criticised public education system, which needs to be reconsidered as regards its potential as a provider of quality education, even while addressing its many failings. The essay follows an approach, both critical and constructive, that underlines the collective onus of the public in realising the value of the public...

-Outlook Amid furore over FDI in multi-brand retail, the politicians and farmers in the leading Agrarian state of Punjab are speaking in different voices over the issue. While Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said the concept may be successful in developed countries like USA, he feared that it may not work in this country. "If the FDI comes, big players will eat into the share of small traders and that will be against...

-Frontline Reinstatement of the fundamental right to property in the Constitution will on its own do little to protect the interests of poor peasants and traditional communities.  The Indian Constitution adopted in 1950 guaranteed a set of fundamental rights that cannot be abridged by Central or State laws. One of these fundamental rights was the right to property enshrined in Articles 19(1)(f) and 31. Article 19(1)(f) guaranteed to all citizens the right...

-Outlook As threat to the Taj Mahal due to harmful gases emanating from nearby industries continue, green activists are now emphasising the need for implementation of a 'clean air action plan' to save the Mughal-era structure. Though environmentalists have been raising a hue and cry time and again, this time they have rung the alarm bell by flagging concerns over emissions from vehicles due to uninterrupted flow of traffic. Industrial pollution is increasingly...

-PTI MUMBAI: The cost of production of paddy in Andhra Pradesh was higher than the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 1,080 per quintal in the last year mainly because of higher expenditure on wages, says the latest study undertaken by the RBI's research wing. Andhra Pradesh is one of the leading producing states in the country. The study, conducted by the Development Research Group (DRG) of RBI, also said the Commission for...