-The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the persistent digital divide afflicting rural India owing to poor and insufficient internet connectivity. With the Prime Minister’s Independence Day speech acknowledging the need ‘to complete’ internet connectivity to villages, there is a renewed vigour and interest in the National Optic Fibre Network (NOFN)/BharatNet project. An important question to pose when translating policy to project is: when should...

-The India Forum Nandini Sundar teaches at Delhi University. Gowhar Fazili teaches at Ambedkar University Delhi. Academic freedom is about the right to study, teach and research a diversity of viewpoints. Yet, this right that is so crucial for the pursuit of knowledge has seen widespread attacks in colleges and universities across India. The New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 claims it is based on principles that include creativity and critical thinking, constitutional values,...

-Business Standard The six-month moratorium period comes to an end on August 31 The Reserve Bank is unlikely to extend the moratorium on repayment of bank loans beyond August 31 as an extension could impact the credit behaviour of borrowers without resolving the issues being faced by them following the outbreak of the Covid-19, sources said. The RBI had announced a moratorium on repayment of debt for six months beginning March 1, 2020...

-The Indian Express PM Narendra Modi has announced a panel to fight malnutrition in young women and ensure they get married at the right age. A look at how the two are linked During his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: “We have formed a committee to ensure that the daughters are no longer suffering from malnutrition and they are married off at the right age. As soon as the...

-The Hindu Business Line Farm leaders pitch for public sector entity for efficient and transparent settlement The dominance of private insurers, their lack of adequate on-ground physical presence coupled with opacity in settlements are some factors that have not helped the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) scheme take off on expected lines. With multiple gaps in the current crop insurance structure, experts have called for making crop insurance a basic right for...