-The Hindu Business Line After decades of neglect, Delhi’s government schools are finally turning the page with much-needed improvements to facilities and teaching methods. But problems such as staff shortage and a broken primary education system refuse to go away easily Delhi’s bustling IP Extension has a familiar skyline — a linear arrangement of ageing residential complexes. A gleaming new building in their midst catches the eye. Until recently, the Rajkiya Sarvodaya...

-The Times of India blog With the approaching winter the air quality in many Indian cities, especially in Delhi, becomes a public health hazard. Something so fundamental as breathing easy can no longer be taken for granted. It’s a wake-up call worthy of a civic revolution. For decades now those who could afford it (very much including this writer), have seceded from public services. The Indian elite send their children to expensive...

-The Telegraph Damoh (Madhya Pradesh): Students of a government-run primary school at a village in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh, were allegedly made to clean a toilet using their mid-day MEAl plates, prompting the district authorities to order an inquiry. The school staff have denied the allegation. A group of parents went to the school in Doli village on Thursday after their children complained that on Wednesday they were asked to clean the toilet...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The major changes in GST rates in the 28 per cent bracket and MEAsures to simplify filing and compliance are seen as an effort by the government to correct an "image problem" dogging the tax reform in key consumer and trader constituencies ahead of the Gujarat elections. It was felt a perception had gained ground that middle class activities like eating out and items like cosmetics...

-The Hindu On the need for action-oriented research in development policy A whole new way of looking at poverty and development policy is taking shape in the world of economics. Traditionally understood as MEAgreness of material resources, there is a growing realisation that poverty also depletes mental resources. Understanding of how poverty impacts behaviour, what the absence of resources does to a person’s mindset can vitaminise the poverty-fighting policy toolkit. Insights, well-designed qualitative...