-Economic and Political weekly Drawing on the research on basic education in West Bengal, this essay argues the case for a much criticised public education system, which needs to be reconsidered as regards its potential as a provider of quality education, even while addressing its many failings. The essay follows an approach, both critical and constructive, that underlines the collective onus of the public in realising the value of the public...

-The Hindu Business Line The Supreme Court has answered only the first of the five questions posed before it — whether auction is the only permissible Constitutional mode of alienation of natural resources? It has declined to answer the remaining, lest it is misunderstood as interfering with and commenting upon the 2G verdict in which the Apex Court had cancelled as many as 122 telecom licenses. In the event, the 2G verdict stays;...

-The Telegraph The Manmohan Singh government has decided to aggressively highlight the Supreme Court’s opinion on allocation of natural resources to debunk the CAG’s coal report that presumed losses of Rs 1.86 lakh crore. Although the government had given a restrained formal response yesterday, senior ministers P. Chidambaram, Salman Khurshid and Kapil Sibal were fielded again today. The ministers carefully avoided attacking the CAG directly but the essence of their argument was that...

-Outlook Lawyer Prashant Bhushan today accused the government of misleading people by selectively quoting the judgement on Presidential reference on 2G verdict, claiming it clearly spelt out that auctioning was the way to go when commercial purpose and profiteering was involved. He alleged that the government has gone on an "overdrive" after the Supreme Court's opinion on the 2G presidential reference, to project the judgement as a vindication of the government's policies. "They...

-The Times of India The Supreme Court, while answering the presidential reference on the 2G judgment, took note of the coalgate scam that stalled Parliament and said whatever be the mode of allocation of natural resources, it can never be a handout for private players. Justice JS Khehar agreed with the majority opinion of the constitution bench on the reference that auction could not be termed as the only constitutionally permissible mode...