-The Times of India   The citizen empowering tool of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, is finding it tough to make an entry into the text books of the state high school syllabus. The AP State Council for Education Research and Training (APSCERT) had accepted the state information commission's proposal to introduce RTI in Class VIII text books in 2010. It was then decided that the lesson on RTI would be...

Maharashtra sounds clarion call on hybrid crop liability Competition is tough in the seed market, which may explain why marketing gimmicks are often used to woo farmers. It’s tougher still for the farmers to get compensation when the claims fail and they are saddled with a bad or damaged crop. Sometimes the state government steps in to offer compensation or the farmers turn to the consumer court for relief. Typically, of...

-The Indian Express The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has got a toehold in the auditing process of Research & Analysis Wing (RAW), India’s premier intelligence agency. In directions issued by the cabinet secretariat earlier this month, RAW has been told to submit a copy of its annual internal audit report to CAG. The report is prepared by a senior officer of the Indian Audit Service. A series of follow-up steps are...

Central Empowered Committee has recommended cancellation of 49 leases The Karnataka Government has requested the Supreme Court to revoke the suspension of 117 mining leases listed under categories A and B by the Central Empowered Committee (CEC). The Supreme Court-appointed CEC has recommended cancellation of 49 mining leases listed under Category C, where iron ore was being mined illegally. It has recommended resumption of operations in 45 mining leases listed under Category...

If India is an aspiring society, education is perhaps the quickest vehicle of social mobility. Right to Education (RTE) is a supplyside intervention by the government that will make education cheaper and, in the process, every child will get a chance to be educated. But an approach that focuses on availability of schools, getting children to the classroom and getting them taught by reasonably well-trained teachers is not enough. Retention...