-Outlook The faecal matter hits the rotary blades, politically-but we're still staring at a sanitation disaster "Indians defecate everywhere. They defecate mostly besides the railway tracks. But they also defecate on the beaches; they defecate on the hills; they defecate on the river banks; they defecate on the streets; they never look for cover." -V.S. Naipaul An Area of Darkness, 1964 Not...

-The Telegraph The human resource development ministry today rejected a demand by two state education ministers that the Centre frame a national policy prescribing a uniform salary structure for schoolteachers in states and rules for recruiting them. At a meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education, the highest advisory body on education that has state education ministers as members, Chhattisgarh's Brijmohana Agrawal and Bihar's P.K. Shahi said the HRD ministry should...

-The Hindu Roberto Azevêdo's observation that India's food security law may violate its commitments to the World Trade Organization should not take New Delhi by surprise. If anything, the government should be thankful the Director-General - who seems apprised of India's legitimate demand for ensuring food security - has recommended an interim solution until the WTO Ministerial Conference in December deliberates this issue. It was clear from the start that...

-The Hindu     The Union Cabinet approved the bill it had earlier sent to Parliament with just a few amendments On Aadhaar, the UPA has decided to take on the Supreme Court as well as the Opposition. The government on Tuesday defended Aadhaar before the Supreme Court asking for relief from the interim orders. It has decided to argue that the judiciary has encroached upon its executive decision-making space with the order. In...

-The United Nations A United Nations report released today projects that by the end of the year, 40 per cent of the world's population - 2.7 billion people - will be online, as mobile broadband has become the fastest growing segment of the global information and communication technology (ICT) market. The annual report of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) also estimates that by the end of 2013, there will be some 6.8...