-FirstPost.com More than a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet Swachh Bharat campaign was launched across the country, statistics appear to be making it increasingly clear that the focus of the campaign needs to be more than merely constructing toilets. A survey conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) has revealed that not even half the toilets built as part of the campaign are being used, according to a...

-Livemint.com What’s essential for the unique identification number to continue is a strong law. But what should it look like? A key thrust of the 2012 writ petition filed in the Aadhaar case (Puttaswamy versus Union of India) was that the executive action in implementing Aadhaar was unconstitutional in the absence of a law. Later developments in the case, including the government’s argument that there is no fundamental right to privacy, and...

-Hindustan Times A group of Delhi University students is arranging professional training for over 20 transgender people to help make them financially independent.   The group of students from Ramjas College have roped in experts to train members of the transgender community in jewellery making under a project called ‘Transcreation’.   “We contacted some NGOs who work with transgender community and started working with them. We want to empower the community and for that the...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: A new study has found time spent on domestic chores can impact education. Data collected from 952 children and their communities in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana has shown that 12-year-olds who spend three hours or more on household chores in a day are 70% less likely to complete secondary education. These findings came to light after Renu Singh and Protap Mukherjee studied data gathered through the...

-Livemint.com The success of cash transfers will depend on how well the government addresses design bugs The recent economics conclave hosted by the finance ministry in the capital has rekindled the debate on cash transfers in India. Among the invitees to the conclave was one of the most vocal critics of India’s transition to direct cash transfers, Jean Dreze, a development economist and an advisor to the erstwhile United Progressive Alliance (UPA)...