-The Times of India The Delhi government is set to propose an additional 15% reservation for children from poor families in most private schools in the city. According to the proposal, which will be presented before the high court once it's cleared by the chief minister, the quota will be applicable to admissions made from class II to XII. The reservation, if passed by the court, will affect 394 private recognized schools...

-The Hindustan Times The government will begin switching over to a system of direct cash transfers for welfare in the New Year and hopes to roll it out all over the country in the ensuing 364 days. This is a radical departure from the existing welfare delivery mechanism so riddled with leaks that a mere fraction of the benefits reach the intended target groups. By co-building these transfers with biometric enumeration...

-The Hindu Any political benefit the Congress hopes to reap in 2014 will come at the cost of reducing the effectiveness of social welfare schemes In getting its ministers to endorse the shift to cash transfers from the AICC office in New Delhi, the Congress has highlighted the political nature of the move. The party clearly expects cash transfers to play the same role for it in 2014 that the National Rural...

-Deccan Herald Cash transfer for public schemes is a “terrible lie”, said activists at a meeting held at Jantar Mantar on Wednesday. Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat said that if one compared India with African countries, India would beat them in terms of poverty. “The government is not willing to tax business tycoons and is making the common man suffer by cutting down subsidies,” she said. Karat added that her...

-Outlook Malda (West Bengal): Four more children died at the Malda College and Hospital, taking the total number of crib deaths since Saturday last to 27. While three children died this morning, another died last night, hospital sources said today. The cause of the death was malnourishment, underweight, and premature birth, they said, adding they were admitted to the hospital in very critical condition. Most of the children who died in the hospital were...