If India is an aspiring society, education is perhaps the quickest vehicle of social mobility. Right to Education (RTE) is a supplyside intervention by the government that will make education cheaper and, in the process, every child will get a chance to be educated. But an approach that focuses on availability of schools, getting children to the classroom and getting them taught by reasonably well-trained teachers is not enough. Retention...

The Maoists in Orissa may have given a call to boycott the Panchayat polls, but in Narayanpatna block of Koraput district they have reportedly got their “own” candidates elected unopposed. Narayanpatna had almost come under siege in 2009 when the rebels propped up the Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangh (CMAS) to take on the state. Sarpanch and Panchayat samiti candidates ‘backed’ by the CMAS have won unopposed in Tentulipadar, Balipeta, Padapadar, Talagumandi,...

-The Indian Express   Don’t panic that Maoists have won Panchayat polls. Isn’t getting them into the system the idea? The Centre has expressed alarm that, in the ongoing Orissa local elections, Maoists have inserted themselves into the very system they also want to destroy. Despite the boycott and attacks on security officials in the area, it turns out that candidates with Maoist links have won around 30 blocks in eight districts, including...

The Centre plans to remove the distinction between below poverty line (BPL) and above poverty line (APL) and bring all the needy under the Total Sanitation Scheme (TSC). It would be renamed as Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan to send home the message that its implementation would be a people's movement rather than a bureaucratic programme. The new scheme will be part of the structural changes to be introduced from April. Union Minister...

In a quiet coup of sorts, Maoists have taken control of Panchayats in about 30 blocks of Malkangiri and Koraput districts in the ongoing Panchayat elections in Orissa. All their nominees have been elected unopposed after the Maoists warned local people against nominating any other candidate. Close to 2,500 members of these Panchayats have also been elected unopposed. Sources said at least 32 heads of Panchayats (sarpanches) have known Maoist...