-The Hindu A well-designed assignment mechanism is vital for the quota for economically weaker sections to work A new Constitution amendment provides 10% reservation to individuals from economically weaker sections (EWS) in the general category for government jobs and educational institutions in India. This law raises several implementation questions. Under the law, EWS applicants may even find it harder to obtain positions. These problems can be addressed using the science of matching...

-The Hindu The exclusion of migrants from the electoral process reveals the caste- and class-driven nature of mainstream politics While political commentators have been busy analysing voter preferences in the general election 2019, one segment, namely migrants, continues to be overlooked. The Election Commission of India (EC), on February 21, clarified that NRI voters cannot cast votes online, and that an NRI who holds an Indian passport can vote in his/her hometown after...

-The Economic Times The group said the threat posed by digital platforms to the integrity of the upcoming elections has assumed “alarming proportions”. A group of rights organisations and citizens — including Internet Freedom Foundation, Common Cause and former chief election commissioners N Gopalaswami and SY Quraishi — have “made an urgent appeal” to the Election Commission to rein in digital platforms to ensure integrity of the general elections. The group, which also...

-The Hindu The Communist Party of India has proposed a national employment guarantee law, named after Bhagat Singh, and unemployment allowance, in keeping with the Opposition’s narrative of joblessness to counter Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pitch of national security. “Our fight is to defend the nation and the Constitution. Our fight is to defeat the forces of hate. We all want to be argumentative Indians, but Mr. Modi and his people have...

-The Hindu Manifesto includes repealing AFSPA. Targeting the Narendra Modi government for a 45-year high in unemployment figures, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) in its manifesto, released on Thursday in Delhi, said the “right to work” should be enshrined in the Constitution and there should be a provision of allowance for those without jobs. The party’s campaign song too captures the party’s accusation with lyrics that say “Aab ki baar, Modi...