-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Pratham's Annual Survey of Education Report for 2014 while expressing concern over falling learning levels also points out that more and more schools are complying with the provisions of Right to Education. There is also positive development as far as libraries, drinking water and toilet facilities are concerned. ASER says percentage of schools complying with RTE-mandated pupil-teacher ratio has increased from 45.3% in 2013 to 49.3%...

-The Indian Express Just a few years ago, the World Bank in its World Development Report claimed that migration from rural India to urban centres is "natural" and the same should not be interrupted or prevented through schemes like the MGNREGA. This was a shocking statement to all those who know why there is huge and ever-growing migration to cities, not only of the labour class but also of farmers and small...

-Employment News The article highlights the fact that the urban areas have failed to meet the demands of the increasing population pressure resulting in large gaps in provisioning of Basic Amenities. Deprivation of such services has resulted in the expanding of slums with conditions unfit for human habitation. This article suggests that the government must take into account the limitations of its interventions for the urban poor and address the challenges...

-The Indian Express For a government that won office on the plank of fighting corruption and promising ‘‘achhe din'' to citizens disgruntled by poor service delivery, one would have thought putting in place an effective anti-corruption and grievance redressal framework would be a top priority. However, after 100 days of being in power, the Modi sarkar's report card on transparency and accountability disappoints. It is well established that openness in government functioning...

As the country celebrates 68th anniversary of her independence this year, recent data from the Census 2011 reveals that the population of homeless declined by 8.8% between 2001 and 2011 to reach 17.7 lakhs. This means that 4.5 lakh households (of average household size 3.9) still do not have any shelter to sleep safely. Although the percentage share of homeless in total population is miniscule (i.e. 0.15%), in absolute numbers...