-The Indian Express As in the case of lawyers and doctors, a formal qualification must be prescribed for journalists Journalists comment on everything under the sun. But when someone comments on their profession, they let loose furious fusillades flaunting the slogan, "the freedom of the media in danger". Most condemn even the suggestion of a public debate on the issue of media regulation and responsibilities. No one can deny my credentials as a...

-The Business Standard Kolkata: Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee, Ford Foundation International professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has slammed the government's Right To Education (RTE) programme. This, he said, was only a step towards ensuring a means of livelihood for teachers. Banerjee said the programme, implemented in 2009, lacked sense. He said he wasn't hopeful about the outcome of the initiative. "It is simply for the teachers, by the teachers,...

-Live Mint Health ministry’s plan for a shorter medical degree course is aimed at addressing manpower shortage in rural healthcare A parliamentary committee on Tuesday rejected the health ministry’s plan to introduce a shorter medical degree course aimed at addressing manpower shortages in rural healthcare. It said the proposed Bachelor in Rural Healthcare course would legitimize differences in the quality of medical treatment in rural and urban settings.   “We discussed the issue at length...

Groups from across India gathered in Delhi recently to assess the Forest Rights Act’s journey since 2006. The law is often dubbed as ‘landmark’ because it ended the age-old illegality surrounding communities living in forest areas by entitling them to individual and community land title. It also went beyond the colonial paradigms of the forest bureaucracy to recognise community efforts at protecting and preserving forests. Numerous groups and individuals working...

-Live Mint Experts say private banks achieve lending obligations by buying out loans from non-banking entities Most private banks in India have not been able to meet the needs of farmers although they are expanding their rural and Semi-urban branch network. This is why the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is insisting that at least one-fourth of the branches of the new banks that will be given a licence must be located...