-Livemint.com The production of ‘mahua’ is finally entering the formal economy as new initiatives seek to upscale this indigenous drink, selling it across the country and even the globe It is a cloudy morning in Nangur village in Bastar district, Chattisgarh. It is a settlement of a little over 400 families, considered fairly large in these parts. We make a bumpy journey down a narrow, unpaved road intermittently shaded by sargi (sal)...

-The Indian Express Jharkhand is one of the five states that had advertised a scheme under which doctors could quote their own salaries. The others are Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka. New Delhi: Plagued by shortage of specialists in community health centres in rural areas, states have granted huge salary hikes to paediatricians, surgeons and gynaecologists posted in rural areas — in states such as Jharkhand and Tripura, these...

-The Hindu The debate on privatising higher education must be founded on the role of such institutions in developing a democratic and inclusive society. Motihari University, Manipur University, Hyderabad Central University, Jawaharlal Nehru University — these names have become shorthand for a set of problems that get framed differently depending on who does the analysis. The list of campuses of public-funded higher education institutions where anger is simmering or has flared up...

-Hindustan Times Social discrimination and socio­economic realities add to disadvantages faced by Scheduled Castes (SCs) in the labour market. Although we do not have employment trends from National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) after 2011-12, anecdotal evidence suggests that India’s job challenge might have worsened in this period. The slow pace of job creation inflicts greater suffering on the workforce in an economy. This suffering however is not the same for all...

-The Indian Express Despite framing rules, proposing fines and starting ‘model colonies’, waste segregation in the capital has failed to take off. With mountains of garbage continuing to grow, The Indian Express reports on the challenges before authorities. The year 2015 was an eye-opener of sorts for Arpit Bhargava. Down with dengue, the lawyer started thinking about the link between waste and diseases. But thoughts gave way to action when he heard...