-The Times of India The Muslim community in India has the lowest share of graduates compared with other communities and just half the share of the nationwide average of under 6%. The Jains continue to be the most educationally advanced community with over a quarter of its members qualified as graduate or above. The share of technical diploma holders is the highest among Christians at 2.2%, again continuing a previous trend,...

-The Hindu The National Medical Commission Bill’s proposal to permit ‘for profit’ colleges will undermine the aim of creating a cadre of medical professionals able and willing to work in small towns and villages The many reports commissioned by the Government of India on the state of medical care invariably highlight one fact: a large number of Indians do not have access to proper and adequate medical care. India currently faces a “double...

-DNA Only 17% rural households take loans from financial institutions | Caste affiliation, gender play a part in getting credit As many as 31% of rural households in India are indebted and a significant number still depend on money-lenders, paying heavy interests, despite various government schemes and a network of rural banking. A parliamentary panel that probed the state of rural, agricultural banking found that a mere 17% rural household had taken...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: A panel set up by the human resource development ministry has recommended a uniform syllabus in math and science subjects for Classes XI-XII across all senior secondary boards. The decision is likely to be implemented from the 2017-18 academic year, an HRD ministry official said. It is learnt that the recommendation is acceptable to all 30 senior secondary boards in the country. However, the panel headed by A. Ashok,...

-Frontline A noteworthy study that provides much-needed insights into the nature and severity of the farm crisis in Punjab. There have been many studies on agrarian distress and farmer suicides in different parts of India in the last decade, including in Punjab. Most of the studies focus on a profile of the victims, mostly landowning farmers, and reasons thereof, with a sample of such farmers. In this context, this book makes a...