-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Delhi government's decision to install CCTV cameras in classrooms of state-run schools and provide a live feed to parents has been challenged by a law student on the grounds that this violates the right to PRIvacy of adolescent girls and female teachers. The Supreme Court on Friday sought the AAP government's response to the PIL that seeks scrapping of the decision. The Delhi government had...

-The Hindu Business Line Fears over shell companies inflating the GDP are overdone, but the CSO needs to be more transparent in its methods Just as the dust was settling on the controversy over the Centre deferring the release of NSSO’s labour force survey which showed unemployment numbers in an unflattering light, a new one has broken out on the veracity of the MCA-21 database used in GDP calculations. The economic commentariat...

-The Hindu Business Line New Delhi: A section of agricultural scientists, activists and farmer leaders has alleged that there is an undesirable attempt to align India’s Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPR&FRA) 2001 with the International Union for the Protection of Plant Varieties (UPOV), even though the country has no legal obligation to do so. In a letter written to Union Agriculture Minister Radhamohan Singh and PPR&FR Authority Chairperson KV...

-The Hindu Several interventions are needed on the demand and supply side to alleviate farm distress Loan waivers remain the preferred solution for governments to tackle farm distress. S. Mahendra Dev and M. Govinda Rao talk about the inability of governments to think of long-term solutions to tackle farm distress, in a discussion moderated by Vikas Dhoot. Edited excerpts: * Despite farm productivity rising, severe distress in the sector is a concern. How...

-The Hindu The NITI Aayog, in its reply to the Election Commission, is learnt to have denied the allegations of the Opposition parties that it helped PRIme Minister Narendra Modi’s office get details of places where he was to hold rallies. The Commission had written to the NITI Aayog Chief Executive Officer seeking its response on the complaints lodged by the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party. They had alleged misuse of...