Half a century after it started funding the massive expansion of higher education, the University Grants Commission is gearing itself up to engineer a quality revolution.

The new government's higher priority to education is seeing experts and activists revisit the 40-year old Kothari Commission recommendations for a common school system. Summiya Yasmeen reports.

While politicians label it 'revolutionary' legislation, experts feel that the draft bill on the fundamental right to education ignores important issues, such as education for children below six and above 14. It also dilutes the meaning of 'rights', leaving the door open for the government to not meet its obligations. Deepa A reports.

The central government's own figures indicate that many as two-thirds of those eligible for secondary education remain outside the school system today. A Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) committee estimates that 88,562 additional classrooms will be required in 2007-08 and over 1.3 lakh additional teachers. Deepa A reports.

The abrupt transition from Konkani and Marathi in primary schools to English in Standard V puts tremendous pressure on children from rural communities in Goa. By the time these learners reach the crucial higher grades, nearly half of them drop out of school. Rupa Chinai reports.

Most private schools are not elite at all, contrary to public perception, and the Right to Education Act will let them run amok at the expense of the public education system, writes E S Ramamurthy.

Tarun Jain and Revathy Suryanarayana explore the link between vernacular language use in schools and educational achievement using data from large-scale historical events in South India.

Palash Foundation helps people move on from the trauma and social challenges faced by those who are disfigured, or simply visually different. Freny Manecksha reports.

As more poor migrant children face exploitation in Kerala, some schools are coming up with ways to enrol and retain them. A few schools now have more migrant than local students, Navya P K points out.

The India Together editorial.

New Delhi is closer to accepting a progressive radio policy, but there is still more it can do. The India Together editorial.

While changes in New Delhi and some state capitals have created larger spaces for voicing expectations, it is too early to celebrate. The India Together editorial.

The National Advisory Council's civil society members assured us of their independence and continued focus on the public good. That promise met its first test during the past fortnight. The India Together editorial.

Now that the early days of the UPA government are behind us, we must begin to judge the administration not by its responsiveness to advocacy alone. Even when governments listen, deeper gaps in the policy arena can thwart progress, and the challenge is to overcome these as well. The India Together editorial.

Is a nationwide employment guarantee for the rural poor really unaffordable? No. But neither our ideologies nor our governments rank such an entitlement very highly. The Centre has instead proposed a watered down guarantee, without actually providing it. The India Together editorial.

Regulation that is working well, as well as others that plainly speak of misgovernance, are both instructive; the road forward lies in separating regulation from the government, and vesting this instead in independent and autonomous bodies created by Parliament. The India Together editorial.

Aarti Madhusudhan continues her series on the workings of development organizations. In this second part, she looks at the Annual Report, the centerpiece of an organization's communication efforts.

Aarti Madhusudhan outlines the do's and dont's of getting new NGO Board members to be an integral part of the organisation.

Despite laws banning dry latrines and the transport of human excreta, thousands of people still make their livelihood this way, sometimes even working in government departments. The social structure has also forced nearly all of this work on to Dalit women and girls. Sachin Kumar reports.

A largely oral system for transfering knowledge has been shaken by the advent of modern methods of learning, and by great changes in Indian society. But there are positive developments too; learning music is now more democratic than in the past. Varupi Jain speaks to noted practitioners who are alert to this transformation.

The idea of recycling is not new, but setting up a distribution network to enable scale and reach the poor, is. Goonj, a New Delhi-based NGO, works through partners in 14 states through 100 agencies. Other, smaller efforts are thriving as well. Chitra Balasubramaniam reports.

A Supreme Court ruling putting live-in relationships on par with marriages raises difficult questions. Will it pit one woman's right to legal protection against another's? Does it overlook bigamy? Shoma Chatterji reports.

A quiet but steady revolution seems to be underway as both government and private individuals and organizations increasingly explore ways to make more data available to the people and in various innovative ways to facilitate application. Shamala Kittane reports.

If charitable giving in India is to rise to the next level, the social sector needs to take more serious note of donors' preference for active involvement in the use of donations, explains Shankar Jaganathan.

In a temple in Almora, thousands of devotees come every year with petitions on, believe it or not, judicial stamped paper, complete with details of their woes, and offer it to Golu Devta with a hope that justice will dawn, even if the courts have failed. Ramesh Menon reports.

Casteism and the state of our civil society were the major issues discussed at the recently held Difficult Dialogues conclave in Goa. It was organised by the South Asia Centre of the London School of Economics India Summit 2016 and the Television Trust for the Environment. Darryl D’Monte, who participated in one of the panel discussions, reports.

The Social Work Research Centre addresses community problems by building upon people's skills, and placing the solutions in their own hands.

A workshop to explore the struggles of women writers brings to light the similar threads of censorship that run through many languages.

Geeta Seshu recalls the women of 2003, whose lives offered hope for improved rights tomorrow, and also reminded us of the failures we live with today.

Mental health issues of women are gaining ground in the women’s studies discourse. Vibhuti Patel reports on current developments and advocates progressive directions.

A recent report commissioned by the National Human Rights Commission finds that many children and women listing as 'missing' are in fact trafficked. Malvika Kaul reports.

Activists within the Muslim community are demanding reforms to tackle questions of personal law such as dowry, divorce and polygamy. Ashima Kaul reports.

Stifled by a culture of incredulity, public and private lenders alike have made little progress in supporting women-run businesses, In such a scenario, self-help groups, better able to judge women's plans for themselves, have taken up the slack, but there is still a long road to travel for aspiring businesswomen. Puja Awasthi reports.

A pan-India survey conducted recently by the Bangalore-based Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC) has brought an alarming new phenomenon of premature menopause amongst Indian women to light. Neeta Lal has more.

Qurratulain Hyder did tremendous justice to her craft by giving a powerful expression to the psychological, emotional and social concerns of women. Humayun Zafar Zaidi writes about the Jnanpith award-winning writer who recently passed away.

Women born into a Bedia family remain unmarried. They engage in prostitution in order to provide for the economic needs of their natal family. And Bedia men have developed a strong resistance to any change in their mode of living, writes Anuja Agrawal.

How have SHGs empowered Indian women? What does the Global Gender-Gap Report 2006 say about Indian women? These questions and many more were addressed a recent international conference at Bangalore. Shoma Chatterji has more.

Things are looking up says a beaming Usha Chaumar, 33, formerly a manual scavenger. "We make pickles, vermicelli and 'papad' (spicy savouries) at home, too, which gets us an additional income of around Rs 2,000 per month." Renu Rakesh has more.

The Maharashtra government recently approved a proposal where a woman in a live-in relationship for a "reasonable period" of time would get the status of a "wife". Ramesh Menon has more.

The Census thinks that prostitutes are not workers, not because they don't work, but because of traditional views that what they do simply should not be counted as work, writes Shoma Chatterji.

Among the steadily growing voices expressing their angst against discrimination, suppression and abuse of women, those of Indian feminist writers are fast gaining in pitch and range. Abha Sharma captures some of these.

Does inequality engender crime? S Venkatraman presents a graphical exposition of data from a recent WEF report and the NCRB to unravel the many layers of inequality and violence against women in India.

While debates over legalisation of sex work and rehabilitation of women in the trade continue without much tangible impact, sex workers themselves carry on the fight to win legitimacy, safety and social security. Pushpa Achanta brings us some voices from the twilight zone.

Widows in India have lived on the margins of society for decades but the intervention of NGO Sulabh International, led by Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, has brought new hope and colour in their lives. Ramesh Menon reports on one of the first celebrations in their new-found lives.

Women are making a mark in a profession almost entirely dominated by men. Shoma Chatterji talks to the women idol makers of Kumartuli to find out about their struggle and success.

Unequal distribution of resources has resulted in a shortage of land available for grazing. Anthra develops sustainable alternatives in consultation with affected groups.

Despite lack of support from policy-makers, potato farmers continue to deploy indigenously developed production and storage techniques, says Virendar Khatana.

Winning the elections to the 15th Lok Sabha elections in India was easier than chalking down and executing what the new United Progressive Alliance has to do in terms of governance. Ramesh Menon looks at some of the challenges ahead.

There are four ideas for a Lokpal and a 'Sense of the House' resolution of Parliament itself before the standing committee whic begins work shortly. The battle for Lokpal is far from over, writes Mathew Prasad Idiculla.

The idea of interlinking rivers is appealing because it is so grand. But this is also the reason it is nothing more than a distraction from the business at hand, writes Sunita Narain.