A communications expert who advises the Prime Minister and a Harvard law graduate who helped Rahul Gandhi’s team draft the Lokpal bill differed on the need for an anti-corruption ombudsman, as the now-shelved legislation dominated an NRI meet today. Sam Pitroda and G. Mohan Gopal came up with different perspectives on the bill on the second day of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, held every year since 2003 to mark Mahatma Gandhi’s...

Seventy-seven schools run by the Pune Municipal Corporation do not have sanitation facilities in tune with the norms set by the Union ministry of rural development's department of drinking water supply, a Right to Information Act (RTI) application by P M Shah Foundation has found. Lack of proper sanitation facilities was one of the reasons girls dropped out of school. The information was sought from the civic education board. The...

As the nursery admissions rush gains momentum in the city, Delhi Directorate of Education (DoE) has defended its position on allowing 3+ as the age for entry in unaided schools. According to its affidavit in the Delhi High Court, the Right To Education (RTE) Act enables the DoE to allow children above the age of 3 years to be prepared for the elementary education. In response to a PIL that has that...

Child welfare continues to be accorded the least priority in planning and implementation of public services or amenities. Other than those institutions, public and private, directly charged with the protection of children, almost all others exhibit a low level of sensitivity to children and low levels of preparedness for child protection, a new study has shown. Conducted by Childline 1098 — a helpline service for children in distress — the study...

If you are a resident of Madhya Pradesh, Muslim and poor, nowhere close to the class of nawabs who can pay for murg musallam or mutton raan, watch your pot! The BJP government, led by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, has just armed itself with a big danda ostensibly to protect the holy cow and its progeny. But, make no mistake, it’s a stick to beat you with. To save your...