-The Indian Express Mumbai: Aadhaar the basis of several fresh proposals, including introducing Aadhaar-based biometric systems in all Central government offices. Despite the decisive push given to it by the NDA government since it came to power and by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, the ambitious Aadhaar project is far from meeting its target of universal coverage by June this year, also impacting the Direct Benefits Transfer Scheme that is based...

-The Hindu The tragic Nepal quake is an opportunity to learn and understand the threats of great temblors. The Nepal earthquake of April 25 is the largest in the Himalayan region since the 1934 quake which measured 8.2 on the Richter scale and destroyed not only parts of central Nepal but also the plains of northern Bihar in India. Mahatma Gandhi, shaken by the Bihar tragedy, wrote in the Harijan that the...

-Economic and Political Weekly The RTI is virtually being strangled to death by deliberate delays in appointments. If you find a law uncomfortable, even one that you supported and passed, what should you do? Repealing it would not be politically smart; amending or diluting it will give ammunition to your critics. So the best strategy is to strangulate it, softly and steadily, until it is rendered lifeless and ineffectual. Something like this...

-Hindustan Times New Delhi: The police have identified the gang that helped its clients procure fake and forged documents to obtain admissions for nursery seats under the economically weaker section (EWS) category in the Capital. Police sources said that the kingpin of the gang is a woman called Punita. She has a team of six members who procured forged income certificates for their clients and sold it to them for several lakhs. Investigation...

-The Hindu The State’s recent experience shows that even the worst-governed States can reform their public distribution system and make good use of the National Food Security Act. “In Lalu’s days we had a lal card [BPL card], with Nitish we got coupons, and when Manjhi came we got this new ration card”. This is how Anuj Paswan, a Dalit resident of Tetar village in Gaya district, sees recent changes in Bihar’s...