-The Business Standard   No state has met the basic RTE norms of trained Teachers, infrastructure needs or pupil-Teacher ratio On April 1, the Right to Free and Compulsory Education of Children (RTE) will turn four. The landmark law enacted by the United Progressive Alliance in 2009 was yet another entitlement to deliver free compulsory education to all children between the ages of 6 and 14. Till date, no state has met the...

-DNA The Indian political class is completely disengaged with the environment because the issue does not get votes. And the poor, who will be the most affected by climate change, are mostly unaware about it, though it is an existential issue for our country. In William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, a series of bizarre events happen in Rome before Caesar's assassination, leading a soothsayer to warn him: "Beware the ides of...

-The Hindu Kerala: Getting a crop loan from a bank and after repaying the entire amount getting back the land or house papers submitted as collateral security for availing the loan are not easy tasks. "Farmers know well how hard it is to get a bank loan today. In several cases they are often in the dark about their eligibility for applying or interest calculated on their loan amount disbursed. "As an answer...

-Down to Earth   Seed company, Mahyco, offered Rs 10 crore compensation to farmers when losses were to the tune of Rs 230 crore It is finally out in the open. Bt cotton has failed miserably to deliver in Karnataka. Following large-scale crop failure on a whopping 58,195 hectares (ha) in seven districts in the state, the state agriculture department has finally taken the decision to bar Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco) from...

-The Hindu     To screen developmental delays and disabilities in children THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The departments of Health and Social Justice are launching a major joint initiative to tackle childhood disabilities through the early identification of developmental delays and disabilities and early interventions so that these conditions do not become permanent or debilitating. District Early Intervention Centres (DEICs) will soon be opened in every district hospital and this will be the first point of screening for...