-Down to Earth More than a fourth of rural students opt for private schools for better education, says Annual State of Education Report by non-profit Pratham The Union government may have made right to education a fundamental right by bringing into force the Right To Education (RTE) Act of 2009, but government schools are lagging far behind in providing quality education, according to the latest report released by Delhi-based non-profit, Pratham. At...

-Live Mint UPA govt hasn't succeeded in improving learning outcomes in India's schools, says the report New Delhi: Despite levying a tax to fund education and enacting a law to ensure access to education for all children between the ages of 6 and 14, the government hasn't succeeded in improving learning outcomes in India's schools, according to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) published on Wednesday. The quality of learning-as measured...

-Deccan Herald In the past seven years around 3.2 crore farmers have abandoned farming and taken up menial jobs in the cities. At a time when change is the buzzword on the political landscape, when cities are changing, and the villages are no longer what they used to be; when incomes are rising for an educated few, and when the bottom of the pyramid - those below the poverty line -- are...

-The Hindu The report of an RBI-appointed committee on financial inclusion and financial deepening has stimulated a wide-ranging debate on these crucial areas. However, policy measures initiated by the government and the RBI while adding to the numbers of new bank branches, new accounts and so on did not really enhance the quality of such inclusive practices. In September last year, the RBI asked the committee chaired by Nachiket Mor...

-The Hindu Business Line Clientelism - tying benefits to political choices - cannot work because voting preferences cannot be ascertained. Do parties and their local agents link access to government services and benefits from government welfare schemes to how voters vote, or are expected to vote? This political strategy, which social scientists refer to as clientelism, depends on a massive investment in local leaders who collect information on voters' party preferences, vote choices...