-The Times of India NEW DELHI: If you jump a traffic light, drive on the wrong side of the road, refuse to snap on the seat belt or obstruct emergency vehicles, you may soon have to cough up a fine of Rs 5,000. And if you repeat these offences, the penalty could climb to Rs 10,000 and even Rs 15,000, your licence could be suspended and you may be packed off...

-Economic and Political Weekly   Through a two-way process comprising text analysis of the policy framework of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme and analysis of empirical data collected through interaction with policy implementers, teachers, students, experts, etc, this article puts forth the argument that urban education system has failed partly because of the inability of the implementers to plan, manage and facilitate the programme. Monika Banerjee (banerjie77@gmail.com) is with the Zakir Husain Centre...

-MattersIndia.com Ludhiana (Punjab): Teachers of government schools in Ludhiana district are opposing the newly introduced system of updating daily attendance and status of midday meal served to students through short message service (SMS) to the district administration. After Roopnagar district, the system was replicated in Ludhiana on the orders of Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal. But various teachers' unions have strongly opposed it and decided to take up the matter with Education Minister...

-The Indian Express Exposure to television and digital media grew by leaps and bounds between 2005 and 2012. From Naxalbari to the Arab Spring, our popular imagination has seen the youth as the harbinger of revolution that breaks down the bastions of privilege. How do we reconcile this with the decisive victory that modern Indian youth have handed to the BJP, whose manifesto focused on entrepreneurship rather than redistribution? I would like...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The sarkari babu will have to make every minute count. The Narendra Modi government has ordered that an Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS) be implemented in all central government offices. A circular issued to all central government offices in the capital today has also asked employees, of all ranks, to submit their contact details (email ID, residential address, telephone and personal mobile phone numbers) to the department of...