Census 2011 has brought glad tidings on the literacy front. Delhi's literacy rate - recorded as 86.34% - has gone up by 4.67% in comparison to Census 2001, which recorded a literacy rate of 81.67%. One of the significant developments is the narrowing of the gap between male and female literacy rate - a drop of 2.53% - which is also the highest dip recorded so far. The difference between...

Under attack from social activist Anna Hazare, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday quit the Group of Ministers (GoM) on Lokpal bill. "Sharad Pawar has given resignation from the committee. He should give his resignation from the Ministry also. It does not affect us," said Hazare. Pawar had earlier in the day said he would be happy to be relieved from all ministerial panels, including that on corruption. "I will be happy if...

Sometime this month, Justice N Ramamohana Rao of the Andhra Pradesh High Court will deliver a verdict that will directly impact earnings of the 114 million people who work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), the Central government's work guarantee programme. The verdict will also indirectly impact earnings of the 400 million workers and labourers who toil in India's factories and fields for 'minimum wages'. The question Justice Rao...

Veteran social activist Anna Hazare Monday said he is starting a 'fast unto death' to press for the demand to involve civil society in formulation of the anti-graft Lokpal (ombudsman) Bill. 'I will fast unto death, as announced earlier, as the prime minister has refused to form a joint committee with civil society members in it for the formulation of the Lokpal Bill. Even if I lose my life, I will...

U.S. support for Muhammad Yunus is so strong that Dhaka may find a negotiated settlement to protect the Nobel Laureate's image and the independence of the Grameen Bank. Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus's three-decades-long journey with microfinance was laborious. But he most certainly did not encounter a crisis like the one he is facing now. It was only in December 2010 that the Bangladeshi — who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with...