-ThePrint.in UGC Wednesday asked institutions to make courses available via govt platform SWAYAM. Academics question move, citing issues like need for classroom instruction & lack of infrastructure. New Delhi: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked universities to offer up to 40 per cent of the courses in any programme online on SWAYAM, the central government’s Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) platform.  Academics have questioned this move, citing issues such as the need...

-Down to Earth In a warming world, governments are far from prepared to resettle people evicted by sea-level rise  Bay of Bengal is the hotbed of tropical cyclones. Estimates show that eight of the 10 deadliest tropical cyclones in the world have originated here. Over the past few decades, cyclones in Bay of Bengal have not only become frequent, the region is also experiencing the largest relative increase of flood risk and...

-MoneyControl.com Bihar, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal could face a crisis if they fail to curb non-merit expenditure, the central bank has warned A study of fiscal parameters of states by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) identified Bihar, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal as highly stressed due to their high debt levels, the quality of expenditure and the level of fiscal deficit. These states could face a crisis if...

-The Telegraph We have raised concerns to Government of India that this seems to really go beyond simply random acts of violence: Balakrishnan Rajagopal Before the latest punitive demolition by the Uttar Pradesh government in Allahabad this month, three United Nations special rapporteurs had written to the Centre criticising similar actions targeting Muslims after communal clashes in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Delhi. This was confirmed by one of the special rapporteurs, Balakrishnan Rajagopal...

-The Telegraph West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited to file separate affidavits stating particulars of the proposed coal mine project in Birbhum district Calcutta: Calcutta High Court on Tuesday asked both the state government and the West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited (WBPDCL) to file separate affidavits in two weeks stating details of the proposed Deocha-Pachami-Dewanganj-Harinsingha (DPDH) coal mine project in Birbhum district. A division bench of Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava and Justice...