-The Hindu Only one-third of schools had usable washrooms in 2018, says ASER report Guwahati: An average of 34.96% schools in the eight northeastern States had usable toilets for girls in 2018 compared to 36.66% in 2016, data analysed from the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2018 report revealed. With 75.7% schools – a marginal increase from 75% in 2016 – having usable toilets for girls, Sikkim performed better than the national...

-National Herald Well-known Belgian-Indian economist Jean Drèze, reflects on the times we live in this animated conversation with Ujjawal Krishnam Jean Drèze, the Belgian-Indian economist, true to his reputation, laces humour and an acerbic wit to reflect on the times we live in. Self deprecating, he brushes aside the question how he juggles between his roles as economist, activist and teacher. He wonders at the multi-tasking ability of Indian women instead. Nor...

-The Hindu The solution lies in better schemes that ensure universal coverage for small, marginal and medium-sized farmers To do or not to do? According to reports, the Central government is discussing a scheme to waive outstanding farm loans in the aftermath of widespread farmers’ protests between March and December 2018 . Till now, at least 11 States have announced schemes to waive outstanding farm loans: Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil...

-The Hindu The Act nullified the controversial March 20 apex court judgment diluting the stringent provisions of the Dalit protection law. The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to stay the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act of 2018, which nullified the controversial March 20 apex court judgment diluting the stringent provisions of the Dalit protection law. The government had brought in the amendments, saying the Scheduled Castes and...

-BusinessToday.in There is, however, no silver bullet solution to agrarian distress. It needs long-term planning and multi-pronged strategy. Agrarian distress has come to the centre stage of national discourse primarily because of last year's multiple farmers' marches and the electoral outcomes in the three Hindi heartland States of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. This augurs well for a sector which provides 49% of total employment and supports nearly 70% of population but...