Criteria for OBCs to be 10% less than general category's minimum eligibility criteria The Supreme Court on Thursday gave its final verdict in the case relating to the 27% reservation for OBCs in central universities allowing 10% relaxation for OBC students below the minimum eligibility criteria of the general category. This means that the cut-off for OBC candidates is to be calculated from the minimum eligibility mark, and not from...

-The Times of India   Showcause notices will be issued to road contractors as well as civic engineers for the potholes and bad stretches remaining on city roads following the meeting chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had with senior officials of various government agencies on Saturday. Chavan also told newspersons after the meeting, "The material used for road work will also have to be tested compulsorily in laboratories before use. The contractor will have...

The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved verdict on petitions seeking uniformity in the criteria for OBC admissions to central universities, including the Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru universities. Last week a Bench of Justices R.V. Raveendran and A.K. Patnaik had referred the matter to Chief Justice of India S.H. Kapadia for posting it before another Bench. However, the CJI asked the same Bench to continue with the hearing. The issue is whether students...

In a week when the central food ministry is reviewing the functioning of the much-maligned public distribution system (PDS) and plans to pull up laggard states on poor storage facilities, low grain offtake, high diversion and a persistently slacking programme, an objective relook at the world’s largest grain distribution system is imperative. Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar has time and again emphasised that streamlining the PDS in the usual-suspect states to...

-The Hindu   A letter to the Prime Minister on the importance of a ‘near-universal PDS.' July 21, 2011 Dr. Manmohan Singh Prime Minister of India Respected Prime Minister, We are a group of research scholars and student volunteers who have just spent three weeks surveying the Public Distribution System (PDS) around the country. We are writing to share a few thoughts on the National Food Security Act in the light of this experience. Our survey covered...