-The Hindu While sanitation schemes in India date back to the British Raj, Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) is the latest and by far most ambitious iteration. Launched by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the end of 2014, the Rs.9,000-crore scheme aims to achieve an Open Defecation-Free (ODF) India by constructing 12 million rural household toilets across the country before October 2, 2019 — to coincide with Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birthday. But...

-The Indian Express Aadhaar doesn’t empower people, only the state Ironically, in the week that the UIDAI revealed its draconian face, serving a legal notice to those who exposed flaws in the Aadhaar eco-system, Ajay Pandey (CEO, UIDAI), wrote, “The critics tend to forget that Aadhaar empowers the people, not the state” (‘Criticisms Without Aadhaar’, IE, May 13). However, government data reveals that Pandey is wrong to believe that “Aadhaar empowers...

-PTI MUMBAI: Reserve Bank will soon come out with final guidelines on customer protection which would limit customers liability in case of unauthorised electronic banking transactions, RBI deputy governor S S Mundra said on Tuesday. Last year in August, RBI had issued draft circular on limiting liability of customers in case on fraudulent banking transactions, resulting in debits to their accounts or cards. RBI had asked comments and suggestions on the same. "Based...

-The Indian Express A survey shows that it is numerically insignificant. The unusual attention that is being devoted to the practice is politically motivated and a waste of resources Since May 11, the Supreme Court of India has been discussing the constitutional validity of the “triple talaq system” on a priority and on a daily basis, yet without the benefit of empirical data. The SC could have directed the government to launch...

-The Hindu Liberalisation has eroded the institutional capacity to train young people who might pursue liberal values The other day, a student asked me what exactly the word ‘liberal’ mean. She wanted to know whether ‘liberalisation’ promotes ‘liberal’ values. She had noticed that institutions of higher education, which are supposed to promote liberal values, were finding it difficult to resist ideological and commercial pressures triggered by the process of economic liberalisation. So,...