-Hindustan Times Indian democracy is robust. The balance is good for the polity The Jharkhand election, in which a coalition of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-Congress-Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has succeeded in dislodging the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, is a reflection of a broader pattern in national politics. For one, it shows, yet again, that the BJP is vulnerable at the state level — and Narendra Modi’s popularity at the...

-The Indian Express The chief ministers of five Opposition-ruled states — West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee, Punjab’s Amarinder Singh, Rajasthan’s Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh’s Bhupesh Baghel and Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan — have already opposed both the CAB and NRC. Bhubaneswar, New Delhi: A WEEK after his MPs voted for the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday opposed a countrywide National Register of Citizens (NRC), swelling the number of chief ministers...

-The Hindu Limiting RTI responses based on locus standi of the applicants could create a chilling effect The Right to Information Act’s role in fostering a more informed citizenry and an accountable government has never been in doubt ever since its implementation in 2005. But there have been persistent and growing misgivings. Section 4 of the Act calls for pro-active and voluntary dissemination of information, but only a few Central and State...

-The Indian Express Of late, there have been changes in the destination choices of Indian migrants. The preference seems to be for non-Anglophone countries despite the integration challenges. Migrants have made notable contributions to their countries of origin as well as destination. This is especially true for South Asia. To commemorate their efforts, the UN celebrates the International Migrants Day on December 18 every year. For several years, India has ranked the highest...

-The Hindu In the absence of scientific planning and implementation, measures like Jal Shakti Abhiyan may not be successful Following the massive water crisis across India in the summer of 2019, the Central government hurriedly launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA), a time-bound, mission-mode water conservation campaign to be carried out in two phases, across the 255 districts having critical and over-exploited groundwater levels. This campaign, however, was not intended to be...