-The Hindu Uttarakhand reiterates that our rulers have contemptuous disregard for the advice of the best scientists and would rather listen to contractors and builders to whom they are beholden for funds In the early 1980s, while doing research on the environmental history of Uttarakhand, I sometimes visited the library of the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology in Dehradun. Most of the journals in the library dealt with geology and earth sciences,...

-The Telegraph Has rape become an inspiring act? Protest, debate, anger, mutual blame, marches, mob violence are spilling out of streets and screens, yet the rape count continues to rise relentlessly, almost as if the outrage over one incident is inciting the next one. Such a narrative is to an extent encouraged by the way incidents are reported in newspapers and television, but the facts are inescapable, and everybody, including the...

-The Telegraph   New Delhi: Two panels examining the education standards of SC/STs and OBCs have urged the Centre to enact a law to implement admission quotas for them at private institutions of study. The panels, set up by a national monitoring committee for education of SC/STs and persons with disabilities, have suggested that private higher study institutions must implement quotas of 15 per cent for SCs, 7.5 per cent for STs and...

-The Telegraph Mumbai: The immediate fiscal impact of the food security programme is going to be manageable. Since implementation of the scheme across India will take time, the cost burden for the programme in fiscal year 2013-14, in addition to the budgeted food subsidy of Rs 90,000 crore, has been estimated by Edelweiss Research at Rs 10,000 crore. This is roughly 0.1 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). But once the...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: Unable to prevent prices of vegetables and fruits from going through the roof, the state government is now promising their supply to Mumbaikars at reduced rates, a promise observers say needs to be taken with a pile of salt. Starting Monday, the government will-for the first time since 1999-sell vegetables and fruits at a price 30% lower than the current retail rate at select co-operative outlets...