-The Hindu Women continue to be invisible to planners, despite their high levels of contribution to the national economy, says a UN Women paper on women and forests Some of the present policies in forest management are detrimental to the poor, particularly women, states a UN Women paper by NC Saxena, member National Advisory Council, even as he suggests changes that could ameliorate their condition. Despite economic growth, gender inequalities in “critical human development...

-ANI Tokyo University has offered a scholarship to a student of the Patna-based 'Super 30' coaching institute. 'Super-30' is a highly progressive and innovative educational programme functioning under the auspices of the Ramanujam School of Mathematics. It selects 30 meritorious children from economically backward sections of the society and academically prepares them to join the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). Tokyo University Director Hiroshi Yoshino said he would love to invite students of Super...

-The Economic Times After kicking up a row by saying that there are more temples in India than toilets, Union Cabinet minister Jairam Ramesh has now set March 2013 as the target date to ensure that all schools have proper working toilets for girls and boys. Ramesh even reached out to human resource development minister Kapil Sibal, requesting him for a dedicated operation and maintenance fund of roughly Rs 12,000 for every...

-The Times of India In an important reversal of stand, the Centre has admitted that the Right to Education Act doesn't allow home schooling.  Admitting that the earlier stand was incorrect, the Centre last week urged Delhi high court to permit it to file a fresh affidavit clarifying its stand in respect of home schooling vis-a-vis the RTE Act.  The U-turn by the Centre came on a petition filed by a student who...

-The Hindu One in eight people, or 12.5 per cent of the world’s population, is chronically undernourished today says the latest State of Food Insecurity (SOFI) report. The grave ethical and practical implications of this abominable statistic from the three Rome-based United Nations agencies are obvious. Not least because mass hunger is a man-made phenomenon. Historically, hunger and starvation have been caused not by shortfalls in food production but rather by...