-The Times of India Even as the nation pushes and the government debates lowering the age limit in juvenile crimes in the light of the Delhi gang rape, National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data shows that most juvenile crimes are committed by those in the age group of 16-18 years. Notably, the minor accused in the Delhi gang rape, who was allegedly the most brutal among the six accused, is 17...

-The Times of India National Advisory Council (NAC) member and MKSS leader Aruna Roy on Friday shot off a scathing letter to the finance ministry objecting to "talk" of subsidy cuts for the poor while funding programmes like Aadhar that have no legislative backing. She also suggested that pre-budget consultations for business and social sector should be held jointly in a more democratic fashion. Expressing "shock" at subsidy cuts Roy, who did...

-The Indian Express The growing influence on policy issues of activists who call themselves “civil society” is a worrying trend and needs to be objectively analysed. Two recent policy pronouncements will illustrate how government seems to be yielding to their pressure. It is well established that absenteeism of teachers and poor quality of outcomes in government schools is the main factor behind the popularity of private schools with poor infrastructure that cater...

-The Indian Express On the eve of the launch of its ambitious Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) programme, the government Monday announced that the welfare plan will be rolled out in 20 districts and cover seven schemes, mostly scholarships, to benefit more than 2 lakh people. The programme will expand to another 11 districts on February 1 and 12 more districts will be added on March 1. A total of 43 districts in...

-Outlook The Planning Commission today projected 8 per cent economic Growth for the 12th Plan, but cautioned that "policy logjam" could slow the expansion to even as low as 5-5.5 per cent during the five year period. Moving away from previous practice of presenting single Growth projection, the Planning Commission has come out with three different economic scenarios for 12th Five-Year Plan. "Growth outcomes will depend upon the extent to which we are...