-Hindustan Times New Delhi: The government will keep a record of all the services and benefits availed using the Aadhaar number for seven years, say new rules, prompting fears that the database could be used for surveillance. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which issues the 12-digit biometric identity to all Indian residents, will be required to preserve its record of verification of an Aadhaar number for the duration. “This is an...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: India continues to have serious levels of widespread hunger forcing it to be ranked a lowly 97 among 118 developing countries for which the Global Hunger Index (GHI) was calculated this year. Countries worse than India include extremely poor African countries such as Niger, Chad, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone besides two of India's neighbours: Afghanistan and Pakistan. Other neighbours Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are...

-The Hindu Today, as the Marrakesh Treaty comes into force, India’s multi-stakeholder approach to providing texts for the blind/print-disabled offers an excellent model for other countries to follow. Today is an important day for blind and other print-disabled people across the globe, as it marks the entry into force of an international treaty designed to help deliver specially adapted texts to those affected by a range of disabilities that interfere with the...

-The Hindu Business Line Although literacy levels are improving, there’s not enough learning happening. This calls for urgent attention This year, marks the 50th year of International Literacy Day. In 1966, UNESCO declared September 8 as International Literacy Day to “mobilize the international community and to promote literacy as an instrument to empower individuals, communities and societies”. At Independence in 1947, India had a literacy rate of 12 per cent, which stands today...

-The Indian Express The clause lists cases where users are exempted from copyright infringement and includes teachers and students “in the course of the activities of an educational institution”. Copyright is not absolute and nor should it be, according to the Delhi High Court. Last week, the court ruled against five prominent academic publishing houses including Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press and Taylor & Francis, allowing Rameshwari Photocopy Services (based in...