-The Hindu Low conviction rates and a lack of a lawful definition of crime mark criminal administration in India Police reform in India has been concerned with political interference ever since the landmark Supreme Court judgement, in 2006, on the subject. The focus should really be on reorganising criminal administration. The annual publication of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), “Crime in India 2016”, which was released recently, presents a dismal picture of...

-The Hindu Business Line After decades of neglect, Delhi’s government schools are finally turning the page with much-needed improvements to facilities and teaching methods. But problems such as staff shortage and a broken primary education system refuse to go away easily Delhi’s bustling IP Extension has a familiar skyline — a linear arrangement of ageing residential complexes. A gleaming new building in their midst catches the eye. Until recently, the Rajkiya Sarvodaya...

-IANS New Delhi: Delhi social welfare minister Rajendra Pal Gautam on Monday announced a blanket ban on manual cleaning of sewers and warned that anyone found violating the rule will be booked under culpable homicide. He also said that a committee had been formed to find out the best possible ways or machines to clean the gutters, within 15 days. The directions came after Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Monday called a high-level...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Several military veterans have told the Prime Minister and chief ministers in an open letter that "dissent is not treason; in fact, it is the essence of democracy". "We can no longer look away. We would be doing a disservice to our country if we do not stand up and speak for the liberal and secular values that our Constitution espouses. Our diversity is our greatest strength," says...

-The Indian Express An expert panel set up by the green tribunal has said it would take 10 years and Rs 42 crore to revive the Yamuna floodplains, after the damage caused by the World Culture Festival. It was a mela Parvati never saw. The curtains had come up wherever she looked, even around the strip of land where her cows usually graze. “Bandhook leke seedhe khade hue the,” she said about...