-The Hindu Absence of data has created difficulties in providing special facilities to BCs, says Jharkhand CM Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, leading an all-party delegation from the State, met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday to demand caste-based census and handed over a memorandum for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The delegation included leaders of nine political parties including the principal Opposition party BJP and ally Congress. “Along with members of the all-party...

-The Hindu A precise caste census is difficult, but the data will be useful to drive social policy The idea of a national caste census might be abhorrent when the stated policy is to strive for a casteless society, but it will be useful to establish statistical justification for preserving caste-based affirmative action programmes. It may also be a legal imperative, considering that courts want ‘quantifiable data’ to support the existing levels...

-Hindustan Times The All India Muslim OBC Organisation (AIMOBC) is looking at expanding their campaign to press for caste-based census across the country and wants a scientific headcount of all castes, including those among Muslims, for enhanced affirmative action benefits. As the demand for a caste-based census intensifies, an organisation of backward Muslims has launched a state-wide campaign to press for it. The All India Muslim OBC Organisation (AIMOBC) is looking at...

-The New Indian Express Once a beleaguered backward region, Odisha now boasts of effective governance in partnership with panchayati raj institutions and uses a community-based response strategy towards combating crises Odisha, a state averred by many as one of the poorest in the country, has set an example for the nation, be it by becoming the first city in the country to achieve clean drinking water from the tap in the city...

-The Hindu Opposition members question government’s commitment to democratic norms The Lok Sabha on Monday passed three Bills in 20 minutes as disruption by Opposition members over the Pegasus snooping controversy and the farms continued into the last week of the monsoon session of Parliament. The government also introduced three Bills in the din, prompting Congress leaders Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Manish Tewari to question the government’s commitment to democratic norms. RSP’s N.K. Premachandran...