-PTI/ The Indian Express As per official statistics, there are over 35 crore students in the country. However, it is not clear as to how many of them have access to digital devices and Internet. From virtual classes to open-book exams, the coronavirus pandemic may have forced classroom learning online but the digital divide in the country may turn it into an “operational nightmare”, experts have warned. Suicide by a Kerala schoolgirl allegedly...

-Hindustan Times Responses have been elusive on critical issues, including health care infra, PM Cares fund, schemes, and migrants In the lethal jaws of a pandemic, when lives and livelihoods are at stake, the information law of a democracy is expected to live up to its responsibilities — to empower the citizens and to ensure transparency and accountability. Free flow of information is an essential component of crisis management. And this is...

-The Hindu They criticised the top court for its “self-effacing deference” to the government Hours before taking suo motu cognisance of “certain lapses” in government measures dealing with migrant workers, the Supreme Court received a stinging letter from 10 senior lawyers each from Delhi and Mumbai that was critical of its “self-effacing deference” to the government, “unwillingness” and “apparent indifference” in the face of the “enormous humanitarian crisis”. The senior lawyers, who include...

-The Indian Express MGNREGA is not the best instrument to help MSMEs in urban and rural areas. Mixing up its objectives can only lead to chaos with no value addition Newspaper reports suggest that a Group of Ministers (GoM) on employment, whose report is not yet available in the public domain, has made draft recommendations including some on MGNREGA. Their suggestions include Merging MGNREGA with skill development programmes and using its funds...

-Hindustan Times According to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme website, around 3.5 million new job applications have come in the current financial year since April 1 till May 20. As many as 3.5 million new workers have sought jobs under MGNREGA since April 1, the highest number of applications in a decade, but there may not be enough work to engage them all, according to government data and officials...