Experts fear that schools will begin forcing children with disabilities to stay at home with the “study from home” clause passed under the RTE amendment bill by the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. This amendment adds children with disability to the definition of “disadvantaged groups” and will now be a part of the 25 per cent reservation for the Economically Weaker Section category, under the Right to Education Act. The bill...

-The Telegraph Reclaimed from Maoists, the natural reserves of Saranda are up against unscrupulous adversaries. At least four mining firms have been extracting iron ore and manganese against their sanctioned capacities in this West Singhbhum region since 2008 right under the nose of the mines department and Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board (JSPCB). The startling fact came to light this January after the two laggard state offices replied to separate RTI petitions filed...

We need a properly defined strategy to integrate poorer children into schools For millions of children, it is a struggle to get to school, to stay in school and to make sense of what is happening in the classroom. After visiting many homes in rural and urban India, I have realised that learning to read without decent instruction, without enough nutrition, without electricity and water, without a place to keep your...

-Daily News Asia's rapid growth is leaving millions behind, causing a widening GAP between rich and poor that threatens to undermine the region's stability, according to a new report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). "Another 240 million people could have been lifted out of poverty over the past 20 years if inequality had remained stable instead of increasing as it has since the 1990s," said ADB's Chief Economist Changyong Rhee. The Asian...

-The Telegraph The Bengal government could find it difficult to reach its target of procuring 20 lakh tonnes of rice this year because of a lack of storage space. Its ability to raise storage capacity too could be hobbled by lack of investor interest in setting up warehouses in Bengal, and a mismatch between the tender rates acceptable to the state and the Centre. “We’ve a target of procuring 20 lakh MT (metric...