-The Hindustan Times Millions of parents and their children may soon no longer have to bear the risks associated with unregulated playschools with dubious teaching methods and crumbling infrastructure that often charge high fees but fail to deliver on promises. The human resource development (HRD) ministry, headed by newly appointed MM Pallam Raju, on Thursday got state governments to agree to expand the Right to Education Act (RTE) to cover preschools. Under...

-The Hindustan Times There is a nip in the air even though winter is yet to arrive in full force in Delhi. The Capital, however, is choking with winter smog due to a heavier pollution load. The levels of respirable particulate matter (PM10) have surged 47% and nitrogen dioxide levels have increased 57%. The current levels of fine particulates are four to six times higher than the acceptable limit. Along with...

-The Hindu Close to 100 scientists from across the country and several farmers groups have appealed to the Supreme Court to accept in toto the interim report of the court-appointed Technical Expert Committee (TEC) in the matter of field trials of genetically modified (GM) crops. In its interim report submitted to the court, the panel had recommended a ban on field trials of GM crops until the regulatory system was completely overhauled....

-NDTV With the blanket of smog over the Capital refusing to lift for the past one week, the Delhi government has called a meeting with neighbouring Punjab and Haryana tomorrow to tackle the situation . Saturday's meeting will be attended by secretaries of Delhi, Haryana and Punjab as well as scientists and Environmentalists. They are expected to discuss the causes of the smog: rising pollution levels, impact of a growing number of...

-Live Mint Flexible labour laws in India cannot solve the problem of weak job growth and the poor quality of employment  The theme of the World Bank’s World Development Report this year is, appropriately enough, jobs. The report recognizes that creating jobs is the surest way of reducing inequality and poverty, particularly in the developing world. But the cliché it offers as a solution is disappointing: relax labour laws. The bank has...