-Hindustan Times The last few weeks have seen a spate of government notifications making Aadhaar mandatory for receiving the benefits of government programmes. The most recent orders relate to an Aadhaar requirement for children to access schools (even under their fundamental right to education), mid-day meals, supplementary nutrition (ICDS) and scholarships. These directives raise a number of ethical as well as practical questions, besides violating children’s right to education, nutrition and...

-The Hindu Kozhikode: Government schools having low number of students is no news. But what is unusual about Government Lower Primary School, Bairayikkulam, is that of the total 13 students there, 12 are children of migrant labourers, whose mother tongue include Bengali and Tamil. Syamala V.K., headmistress, was a picture of poise when asked about the shrinking number of students in her school. “Education should not be looked upon only in terms...

-The New indian Express PUDUKKOTTAI: Drought, unseasonal rains, wilting crops, soaked harvest, suicides and clamour for compensation. These are the words that one associates with farming these days. However, amidst the gloom, a woman farmer, who refused to give in to the vagaries of nature, is a beacon of hope for the distressed. While paddy crops in various districts were damaged, A Gandhi, from Sundarappatti, who cultivated traditional paddy on her...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: India's government-funded health insurance schemes have increased patients' access to hospitalisation but failed to reduce their households' personal out-of-pocket healthcare expenses, the most comprehensive review of the schemes so far has found. The review by public health analysts has found increases ranging from 12 per cent to 244 per cent in hospital-based services across the country since the schemes were launched a decade ago. But there is no...

-The Hindu Fifteen % of candidates face criminal cases; over 50% of candidates' declare their educational qualification to be between ‘5th pass and 12th pass’ An analysis by election watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has found that 38 candidates, or 15% of all, appearing in the coming election in Goa have criminal cases registered against them. Nineteen of them face serious criminal charges, including those of assault, murder, kidnap and rape. Topping...