-The Indian Express   Reduce Centrally sponsored schemes, specify their objectives and timelines.    A Niti Aayog taskforce chaired by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has apparently recommended that 25 per cent of the funds under Centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) be made available to states as untied monies. If this recommendation is accepted, states would receive a total of Rs 42,000 crore during 2015-16 itself. This recommendation should be viewed in...

-The Times of India PATNA: If you want to become Mukhiya, Pramukh, district board chairperson or even a ward member of your gram-panchayat by contesting panchayat polls in Bihar, you must have to construct a toilet at your individual home. Bihar Legislative Assembly on Wednesday passed a legislation- the Bihar Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2015, bringing some new provisions including making it mandatory for candidates contesting all level of panchayat raj elections...

-The Telegraph   The debate around Yakub Memon’s hanging highlights the many cases of people who were hanged but who should have lived. Indeed, the Supreme Court admitted in 2009 that it had wrongly sentenced 15 people to death in 15 years. Avijit Chatterjee looks at some cases   It was a mistake, the Supreme Court later said. But by then it was too late. Ravji Rao, or Ram Chandra, had been hanged to...

-The Hindu How the RightToRead programme focusses on making teachers an integral part of the learning process. The teacher crisis in India is well known but not spoken about as much. It is estimated our government schools are in need of 5.9 lakh primary-level teachers and 3.5 lakh upper primary-level teachers. By 2030, this number is projected to increase further. There is also the need for skills training so that the effectiveness...

-Economic and Political Weekly There are basic methodological and conceptual problems with recent research that ends up arguing that private school education is more effective than public education. Such findings have obvious policy implications but it is critical that research that informs policy is based on a correct reading of facts, keeping the larger vision of education in mind. Recent research into the cost effectiveness of public education vis-à-vis private education concludes...