-India Today The Nitish Kumar government has ordered an inquiry into the incident after the report surfaced. * Students were made to sit in different classrooms based on their caste and religion * The Bihar govt has ordered action against the principal of the school * The District Education Officer has asked for stern action against the principal A government-run school in Bihar's Vaishali district has come under scrutiny after students there complained that they...

-Livemint.com Declining income, shrinking farmlands, rise in number of dependents on existing holdings add to farm woes Bengaluru: Since 2000, Karnataka has put nearly 200,000 hectares of farmland to non-agricultural use, including for industrial, residential and infrastructure projects. Besides shrinking farmlands, the number of dependents on existing land holdings have also increased considering little employment opportunities elsewhere. From 1.312 million hectares in 2000-01 (cumulative), the total land put to non-agricultural use has risen...

-Down to Earth The scheme's Management Information System destroys local accountability, promotes centralisation and administrative control and gives out wrong data There is an increasing tendency in the Union government to show performances of central schemes, especially social welfare programmes, through data captured by the Management Information System (MIS). It is indeed a matter of astonishment how the MIS data always shows high performances of schemes and programmes, while ground surveys and...

-The Hindu Dignity March will be flagged off at Somaiya Ground in Sion today Mumbai: On Thursday, about 5,000 survivors of sexual abuse and assault will embark on a 65-day national walk that will span 10,000 km through 200 districts in 24 States and Union Territories. The Dignity March, which was announced by survivor-focused organisation Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan on Wednesday, will begin at Somaiya Ground in Sion on Thursday at 11.30 a.m....

-The Hindu The former Chief Election Commissioner on the EVM controversy, why the Supreme Court’s verdict on criminals in politics is a missed opportunity, and electoral bonds The debate on the reliability of electronic voting machines (EVMs) refuses to settle, with political parties continuing to voice their concerns about malfunctioning machines. Former Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi explains how EVMs work, why he is disappointed with the Supreme Court for refusing to...