-The Hindu If concurrent Lok Sabha and Assembly elections were to be a reality, it would go against the political diversity essential for addressing the social diversity of India. Though spoken about for quite a few years, simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies seem to be fast on their way to becoming a matter of national concern. This proposal is not only being discussed in the television studio, but...

-The Hindu Governance performance ranked over a decade Regional disparity has been growing over the years, shows a new study which evaluates thE Governance performance of 19 major States. The research, conducted by Sudipto Mundle, Samik Chaudhury and Satadru Sikdar, was published in The Economic and Political Weekly earlier this month. Five of the six best-performing States in 2001 — Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Punjab — continue to be the...

-TheWire.in Finding a time period – keeping in mind exam schedules, agricultural cycles, festivals and public holidays – when elections can be held throughout the country may prove to be difficult. In a television interview recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed that holding elections simultaneously for the parliament and the state assemblies needs to be seriously considered. It would save the country from the permanent electoral cycle, party politics and polarising issues...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: If true, this is the 21st century avatar of the unspeakable practice of untouchability. If true, this will point out who Dalit students are, to the rest of the student community, furthering discrimination. Dalit students at the Lajpat Rai DAV College in Jagraon have alleged that authorities have instituted a separate biometric attendance system just for them, ANI reported on Tuesday. "A separate biometric for SC (Scheduled...

-Hindustan Times New Delhi: The government wants to send people who pay bribes to jail. But, it has refused to make a distinction between people who collude with officials and those who are coerced into paying up. This means people such as Sumita, too, can be jailed. Sumita lost her 10-month-old son on August 9 in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich hospital when the child did not get an injection. The staff delayed the injection...