-The Hindu Students seeking 80% hike in stipends New Delhi: With hundreds of student-researchers in several institutions across the country picketing for a hike in Fellowships, two senior officials said that a decision should be out by the first week of February and the hikes could range from 25-50%. On January 16 about 2,000 students and researchers, including from the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the labs of the Council of Scientific &...

-Frontline.in Interview with Aruna Roy. ARUNA ROY is a well-known social and political activist. A former Indian Administrative Service officer, she resigned from the IAS in 1975 and has since worked with the most oppressed in society. Aruna Roy’s observation on government service is indicative of her future concerns: “Everyone calls it an elite service; I always felt the discourse should be a bit better than what it was. I was shocked...

-The Telegraph Call to govt to act against covert promotion A paediatricians’ network has asked the government to act against violations of a law on baby food substitutes, claiming companies are organising “scientific sessions” to influence doctors into recommending their products. The Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India has asked the Union health ministry to authorise health officers or paediatricians in the district hospitals to look out for and file complaints against violations of...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: What is driving the Fellowship hike protests across centrally-funded institutions such as the IITs, IISc,NITs or the IISERs? The last hike for the 1.25 lakh research scholar community was in 2014, that too after a gap of four years. With no hike since then and no communication from the government, scholars across institutions have joined hands to launch a nationwide movement demanding a better stipend. Apart...

The National Foundation for India invites applications for its National Media Awards Programme, 2019.  The award is for young, mid-career journalists and will allow them to publish and research articles /photo-essays on issues of national concern, which though important, do not receive adequate media attention. The award supports the pursuit of in-depth, creative field research on these concerns and writing about them with adequate evidence. Under the programme, ten to twelve...