-The Indian Express Patna: Upset over frequent reports of tension and clash between students belonging to different castes, the Bihar government plans to dismantle its SC/ ST, OBC and minority hostels in a phased manner. On January 29, more than 25 students of the Saidpur hostel under Patna University attacked students of Bhimrao Ambedkar Welfare hostel. The clash resulted in three students getting injured. The Welfare hostel, run by the SC/ST Welfare...

-The Times of India PATNA: The central construction agencies have failed the state once again insofar as the completion of rural road projects is concerned. Rural works department (RWD) minister Bhim Singh, who visited 12 districts to review the progress, lamented, "They have displayed their inefficiency by not constructing the roads they had been allotted." Singh called the representatives of five central agencies and strictly told them to complete the projects by...

-The Hindu In his article in The Hindu (editorial page, “Making a mockery of domestic gas pricing,” January 18, 2013, Surya P. Sethi attacks the gas pricing formula proposed by the Rangarajan Committee, curiously enough, for being based on numbers from foreign markets that do not reflect the supply, demand or cost of production in India. I say “curiously” because on the exact opposite side, domestic producers are also pillorying the committee’s...

-Live Mint Developments a part of reforms initiated after apex court’s intervention to amend Drugs and Cosmetics Act The health ministry has tightened the norms for clinical trials by making it mandatory for companies to compensate patients who may suffer injury or death while participating in the trials even if they have not been caused by the drugs being tested.   So far, the compensation has been restricted only to cases where the...

-The Times of India While the HRD ministry cries foul over budget cuts an independent report on education points out that despite significant rise in public spending, parents continue to opt for private schools with government educational institutions failing to offer quality education. Central contribution to elementary education increased by 90% from Rs 203 billion in 2007-08 to Rs 383 billion in 2012-13, while secondary school allocation rose by 271% to Rs...