-The Times of India There's less than a year to go and a lot of ground to cover. To take stock of the progress made in implementation of RTE and to plan the way ahead, an alliance of over 10,000 grass-roots organizations working across the country, the RTE Forum, held a national meeting of "people's organizations". Apart from the 200 representatives working on RTE implementation in 20 states, members of theRTE...

-The Hindustan Times There is a widespread perception of policy paralysis in the corridors of power. The two remaining years of the UPA's term is still not too short to reverse the current drift, but time is rapidly running out. The damaged economy needs urgent fixing as does restoring the credibility of an executive racked by scandals and the absence of a sense of direction. The people of the country long...

-The Pioneer The land rights given under Forest Rights Act should be used to make these lands so productive that the people become self-sufficient for their daily needs. Government departments must facilitate the change, says VK Bahuguna Land-based resources in areas affected by Maoist violence are the backbone of tribal livelihood. But, population pressure and degradation coupled with poor investment has led to the gradual reduction in the income of the people...

-The Economic Times National Advisory Council member Aruna Roy has criticised the government for failing to deliver on land reforms. Criticising the UPA dispensation for not convening a single meeting of the National Land Reforms Council (NLRC) since it was constituted over four years ago, Roy on Monday told ET that this reflected an "absolute lack of intent and the symbolic manner in which governments respond to some the most basic...

-The Hindu The Election Commission, headed by reform-oriented CEC S.Y. Quraishi, is unhappy the government has not considered the changes it has been pushing for so many years, including declaring “paid news” a poll offence. Mr. Quraishi, known for his voter-friendly reforms, is demitting office on June 10. On February 3 last year, the EC suggested that publication and abetment of “paid news” for furthering the election prospects of any candidate or prejudicially...