-The Hindu Opposing the provision of automatic promotions till Class VIII under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Act, 2009, a Parliamentary committee has asked the Ministry of Human Resource Development to "rethink" the policy as a student may not be motivated to work hard if promotion was guaranteed. Expressing concern over the Quality of education under the RTE regime and the learning outcome, the panel has asked the Ministry...

-Down to Earth Inadequate sewage treatment and disposal in the national capital territory is contaminating city's groundwater Delhi residents who depend on groundwater for their drinking water needs be warned. The latest data of the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) shows that groundwater samples taken from observation wells in the national capital are getting contaminated because of their unhygienic catchments and untreated sewage, which is discharged in the open and into drains,...

-Live Mint The experience of Kerala and Tripura shows how panchayati raj can help in the empowerment of women Chulubari (Tripura)/Kanjikuzhy (Kerala): Her relatives warned Hena Das, a resident of Chulubari in Tripura, against taking up political office because it wasn't "meant for women". Das disregarded the warnings. Two years on, she has no regrets. She also has no male colleagues; her fellow representatives on the board of an 12-member panchayat are all...

-The Hindu Business Line     Technology has improved the poor's access to healthcare. India grapples with the issue of a major divide between the well-to-do and the lower end of the population strata. The challenge of uplifting the ‘below the poverty line' section of the population remains a challenging task. One of the areas which ranks high on this priority list is access to healthcare facilities. As is well known, events related to emergency...

-The Hindu   Overdue commissioning of plant could be further delayed The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) on Friday acknowledged that four valves were found defective during tests at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu and said they were being replaced. In a press release, the Board also indicated that the long overdue commissioning of the plant could be further delayed as the new valves were again being put to the test....