-The Hindu In addition to adequate provision of funds for cleaning, sanitation training and maintenance of toilets in schools, the issue of fixing Accountability must also be addressed The revival of the issue of toilets in schools has brought to the fore a discussion that has for long existed among educationists, with varying positions occupying centre stage at different times. A couple of decades ago, when the deplorable state of education began...

-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...

-The Hindustan Times India's record, when it comes to sanitation, has been most unsanitary. Of the estimated billion people who defecate in the open across the world, more than half are here. Poor sanitation impairs the health of Indians, leading to high rates of malnutrition and productivity losses. According to the World Bank, India's sanitation deficit leads to losses worth 6% of GDP. In such a scenario, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's...

-The Hindu   Instead of reinventing or restructuring the Planning Commission, we need to replace it with a think tank that supports high-quality independent research The Planning Commission is neither a constitutional nor a statutory body, but over the years it has acquired tremendous power of distant planning which is unsuitable to a country as diverse and complex as India. Let us neither reinvent nor restructure such a body. Let us, instead, make...

-The Indian Express New body must retain the Commission's mechanisms for Centre-state discussion The prime minister spoke from the ramparts of the Red Fort this morning, putting to rest all speculation about the future of the Planning Commission. I write as a member of 10 years standing of this apex think-tank. The Planning Commission was the brainchild of Jawaharlal Nehru, who created it by cabinet order; it has no legislative sanction. Prime...