-The Hindu Opposition MPs question government’s inaction on 2014 task force’s recommendation of over 40 communities for inclusion Over the past one week, while the Parliament has discussed the inclusion of various communities in the Scheduled Tribes lists of Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and himachal pradesh, Opposition MPs — specifically from Odisha — have questioned the government about the list of communities that were already recommended for inclusion on a priority basis...

-PTI/ The Hindu Share of women members in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha stands at 14.94% and 14.05%, respectively; average number of women MLAs in Assemblies across the nation accounts for only 8% Women representation in Parliament and most State Legislatures across the country is below 15% with 19 of State Assemblies having less than 10% women lawmakers, according to a government data. The State Legislatures which have more than 10%...

-Hindustan Times On November 7, the government amended the electoral bonds scheme to allow their sale for 15 extra days during the “year of general elections to the Legislative Assembly of States and Union territories with Legislature NEW DELHI: Electoral bonds worth ₹676.26 crore were sold from November 6 to 15 after the government allowed the sale of bonds for an additional 15 days ahead of state elections in Gujarat and Himachal...

-The Telegraph ‘Ill-timed, improper’ amendment notified by Centre a bid by ruling party to take ‘undue advantage’, says former economic affairs secretary New Delhi: Former Union economic affairs secretary E.A.S. Sarma has asked the Election Commission of India to prevent the fresh sale of electoral bonds, as allowed under an amendment notified by the Centre on Monday that he described as “ill-timed, improper” and as a bid by the ruling party to...

-The Hindu Allow more flexibility at the ground level, says internal study commissioned by the Ministry of Rural Development An internal study commissioned by the Ministry of Rural Development has argued for decentralisation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), allowing for more “flexibility” at the ground level.  The Ministry recently made public the report of the sixth Common Review Mission which surveyed seven States — Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh,...