-The Indian Express Farmers and activists, who have jointly raised the issue with NHSRC say that they were given “no time” to prepare for the meetings nor are the railway officials presenting the report of impact assessment. Vadodara/ Surat: The National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRC), which has begun its meetings with “stakeholders” to assess the social impact and damage from the ambitious Ahmedabad-Mumbai “bullet TRAIn” project, is facing protests from farmers...

-The Pioneer Concerned over serious irregularities in selection to public posts, the Supreme Court has suggested the Centre to videograph all selection proceedings by the Public Service Commission and State Selection Boards. In an order passed recently, the apex court even asked the Department of Personnel and TRAIning (DoPT) to explore the possibility of installing CCTVs at the venues where examination and interview takes place to ensure that in the event any...

-The Hindu There is no way the country can reap its demographic dividend without fixing vocational education Salvaging the Indian demographic dividend must be a key part of India’s growth story. In 2016, the Government of India formed the Sharada Prasad Committee to rationalise the Sector Skill Councils (SSCs), which are employer bodies mostly promoted by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Confederation of Indian Industry and other...

-The New Indian Express JEYPORE (Odisha): The announcement of making a 56-year-old tribal woman of Patraput village in Koraput district a member of the State Planning Board has brought cheer for the widow as well as the locals. Villagers and elected representatives of Jeypore block are making a beeline for her thatched house to congratulate Kamala Pujari, who brought laurels to the State by preserving hundreds of local varieties of paddy...

-The Hindu Why India is the only Bt cotton-growing country facing the problem of pink bollworm infestation Earlier this month, the government cut royalties that local seed companies pay to Monsanto, for the second time in two years. This follows previous attempts to defang Monsanto. In February, for instance, the anti-trust regulator, the Competition Commission of India, decided to probe into anti-competitive practices by Monsanto. At the centre of all this is...