-Hindustan Times Still, doubts about EVMs have been planted, despite the fact that none of the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines showed a mismatch with the EVM count. Two months after the declaration of Lok Sabha election results, conspiracy theories about possible tampering of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are still doing the rounds. That important opposition leaders have demanded a return to paper ballots and even openly supported EVM-rigging...

-Livemint.com * The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha last week. It will now require President’s nod to become a law * The Bill was passed by a majority vote of 108-13, while also escaping scrutiny of a select committee NEW DELHI: In what may overhaul the country’s transportation system, the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the proposed amendments to the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019. The bill was passed by the Lok...

-The Hindu What the draft National Education Policy omits in its chapter on early childhood care and education The draft National Education Policy starts its opening sentence with a hitherto little-known fact: “The learning process for a child commences immediately at birth.” Many believe that children start learning only in school. It is true that language and numerical proficiency, and analytical skills, are attained in school, but the foundation for such a...

-The Telegraph 'The existing system of the HRD minister chairing the panel for selecting IIT directors was a bad practice' New Delhi: A panel of educationists set up by the University Grants Commission has found flaws with the existing system of selecting academic heads of institutes of higher learning and called for a review, implying that politicians should not be part of the process. The recommendations came in a report the four-member committee,...

-The Hindu * Will this form of chemical-free agriculture increase farmers’ incomes? Where are the pitfalls? The story so far: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman thrust zero budget farming into the spotlight in the first Budget speech of the 17th Lok Sabha earlier this month, calling for a “back to the basics” approach. She said, “We need to replicate this innovative model through which in a few States, farmers are already being trained...