-The Indian Express The river linking project is based on a faulty premise, has not cleared legal challenges and will damage Bundelkhand. The people of Bundelkhand certainly need better water access and management. But the Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP), estimated at a cost of Rs 38,000 crore, is not the solution. The project will, on the contrary, lead to huge adverse impacts in the region. The Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC), in...

-The Indian Express The Indian Express tracks how the National Security Act (NSA) is being abused in Uttar Pradesh over the last two years. * District Magistrate passed orders in a mechanical manner, in some cases merely on the basis of police reports. * The procedural safeguard of effective representation for those detained was seriously infringed. * Individual liberty guaranteed by the Constitution cannot be taken away without proper application of mind. THESE ARE some...

-Financial Express While wheat prices may firm up once the official procurement begins in all the producing states, the government will have to implement a robust procurement system for other crops to support the prices fetched by farmers. Mandi prices of most rabi crops ruled below their minimum support prices (MSPs) during the last month, even as more than half of the winter crop has been harvested (see chart). While wheat prices...

-The Indian Express Maharashtra government’s move to regulate fees is laudable. But it must also address larger issues of transparency, accountability and inequality related to private schools In February, Maharashtra Minister of State for Education Bacchu Kadu directed the state education department to create a “plan” to take action against private schools allegedly charging excessive fees and repeatedly violating state regulations on school education. Kadu has been at the forefront of hearing...

During the last one year, India seems to have lost the race in becoming the world leader in terms of development, prosperity and growth thanks to the recession brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. The total number of poor people in the country has swelled and the middle class has shrunk in 2020 in comparison to what was anticipated earlier. A new study by the United States based think tank Pew...