-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...

-Hindustan Times The Narendra Modi government on Thursday called the debate on abolishing capital punishment “legitimate” but made it clear there was no way India could afford to take the leap now due to terrorism in India and the country’s disturbed neighbourhood. Finance minister Arun Jaitley also rejected suggestions that the government had been in a hurry to execute 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts convict Yakub Memon and made it clear that...

-Livemint.com Loathed and mistrusted as they might be, lawyers from all backgrounds—economic, ethnic or otherwise—are needed to make for a vibrant society The lack of diversity in the legal profession, as evidenced by the inequality in the appointments of senior counsel at the Supreme Court and high courts, is a serious issue at the top level, but it actually starts at the very bottom, according to research surveying students who entered...

-Tehelka A Delhi-based NGO combines innovation with common sense to provide thousands of hungry people with food which otherwise goes waste Events are often organised based on an underlying theme of abundance. Maybe because of this, extravaganzas always come with a sense of guilt which arises from wasting resources in a world where many die due to scarcity. For those of you who want to enjoy the evening without that burden, simply...

-The Hindu Hyderabad: Religious dogmas and untouchability find way even into the food served to schoolchildren as part of the mid-day meal scheme, as reported by a study in Telangana. While a few news reports have already appeared about parents objecting to meals cooked by Scheduled Caste women, the study led by the Caring Citizens’ Collective (CCC) vouches that many more similar cases are hushed up by teachers. The CCC is an...