-Livemint.com The money from the Union govt will be routed through the state employment guarantee fund window to the workers accounts New Delhi: In a bid to eliminate delays and corruption in the payment of wages to workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), the Union cabinet on Wednesday approved the direct release of wages from the Centre to the workers. Workers will be assured of timely payment...

-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...

-Business Standard The statement of the tribal affairs ministry is contrary to its position stated repeatedly over the past year Whether consent from tribal village councils is essential before using forests could hinge on a case being heard by the National Green Tribunal on the Thoubal multipurpose dam project, which has been under construction since 1989 in Manipur. The tribal affairs ministry has told the court it does not have the power or...

-The Indian Express Environment Ministry clears 229 projects in a month, up from 217 in a quarter. Wary of the perception that his ministry is clearing too many projects too fast, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has asked ministry officials to replace the word ‘diversion’ of forest land with ‘reforestation’ in all communications. An intra-ministry communication issued on July 16 by Javadekar’s private secretary Vinay Srivastava stated: “Hon’ble minister has desired that henceforth...

-Business Standard The Subramanian report had been panned by environmentalists and tribal rights groups for seeking dilution of existing safeguards in the name of reforms The report of the Subramanian committee to revise environment laws should be scrapped and the issue looked at afresh, Parliament’s standing committee on the sector has recommended. The committee, headed by Ashwani Kumar, a Rajya Sabha member from the Congress party and an ex-Union minister, gave its...