-The Telegraph India’s education system is marked by poor quality and produces “functional illiterates”, the chief of a UN body told The Telegraph here today. “India has made a lot of progress in achieving education for all, but what kind of education is being imparted and whether there are adequate teachers are issues of concern. The result is functional illiteracy,” Unesco director-general Irina Bokova said on the sidelines of a conference by...

-The Times of India The government is moving rapidly to enable cash transfers through the Aadhar platform with 51 districts to be covered by January 1, 2013, and half the country four months later — a bid to rollout an initiative aimed at streamlining subsidies while also earning votes. The plan is to put money directly into bank accounts of beneficiaries of government schemes like scholarships, cheap food under the Public Distribution...

-The Hindu "We need a relook at the entire approach to development in tribal areas" MALKANGIRI (ODISHA): Abysmally low literacy, high infant mortality rate and inaccessible terrain put a big question mark over the talk of inclusive growth in this tribal-dominated district of Odisha. Considered a hotbed of Maoist activity, the death of 24 children at Potrel and Usakapalli in the Korukonda block and at Charkiguda on the outskirts of the district headquarters...

-The Hindu In the latest move on its social welfare agenda, the government may expand its pension scheme, widening the net for widows, single and divorced women, disabled people, Dalits and tribal senior citizens, as well as increasing the amount paid to older people. The Rural Development Ministry, which is proposing the expansion, estimates the additional cost at more than Rs. 18,000 crore per year. The Ministry has just accepted the recommendations made...

-Kafila.org Even though Hiamchal Pradesh voted on November 4, Gujarat has been hogging all the limelight. The election in Gujarat is only in the third week of December. Gujarat captures our political imagination as a ‘role model state’ whereas Hiamchal Pradesh is just in our tourism agenda as a top holiday destination. It is hard for anyone to notice Himachal as a political entity among the big brothers like Uttar Pradesh,...