While the infusion of SSA funds has helped the State make considerable progress on many counts, there is still much to be done, to ensure all the necessary inputs flow to the schools. Himanshu Upadhyaya reports.

India's upcoming National Biotech Policy will aim at food security, health-safety, farmer well-being, protection of the environment and security of trade in farm commodities. But favouring GM crops over alternatives runs real risks of jeopardizing this agenda, argues Kasturi Das.

Financial audits of public undertakings can be conducted as in other firms, but how about audits of their administration? Himanshu Upadhyaya observes that the government's move to limit the CAG's mandate confuses financial scrutiny with oversight of governance issues, and the public auditor's role in the latter function is still vital.

A persistent push to develop large-scale rubber plantations as a livelihood alternative to slash-and-burn cultivation by tribals has resulted in a major economic upswing in Tripura. With market prices for rubber well above sustenance levels, the future looks bright too. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

The many arguments offered in support of Public Private Partnerships don't stand up to close examination. The private sector is not more efficient than its public counterpart, nor is cheap money accessible to it as readily, write Shripad Dharmadhikary and Gaurav Dwivedi.

Could a switch to biofuels ease the energy burden of a growing economy, and at the same time address a vital environmental issue? Venture capitalist Vinod Khosla seems to think so, judging by how far from the VC universe environmentalism usually is. Darryl D'Monte notes Khosla's vision for a sun-rise industry.

Making Comprehensive Mobility Plans mandatory for cities has been beneficial, but a lot more is needed to ensure they are effective in achieving the goals of national transport policy, writes Madhav Pai.

When technological change has the potential to put the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people at risk, it must be regulated differently from other products in a free market. Blindly promoting innovation, as is now being done with genetically engineered crops, is self-defeating, writes Suman Sahai.

The ruling by the World Trade Organisation (WTO)’s dispute settlement body (DSB) in a complaint filed by USA against elements of India’s solar mission is again in the news. Shalini Bhutani helps to piece together the sequence of events and points out how the global trade architecture keeps domestic laws and policies under intense scrutiny.

Calls for the renewal of hundreds of thousands of lapsed insurance policies have begun, reports P Sainath.

The Court of Appeals in Philippines has recently passed an order, prohibiting field trials of GM Bt Brinjal. As the Indian government seeks to push through the BRAI Bill, Neha Saigal exposes its loopholes and argues why we should go the Philippines way.

Going beyond value judgments, T R Raghunandan presents an objective explanation of why the Supreme Court judgment upholding the constitutionality of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code lacks sound reasoning and could have been much better crafted.

As we approach the parliamentary elections, India Together presents a quick familiarisation with members of the Lok Sabha in certain key urban constituencies. In the first of the series, Amrita Mukherjee introduces you to the sitting MPs from Kolkata.

Rajasthan is getting ready for a mass installation of fluoride filters on water handpumps in over 23000 villages. The state's drinking water has dangerously high fluoride levels. But the government's reliance on pumps may cause more harm than good, asserts Deepak Malik.

A female police inspector from J&K, deployed in a peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan, has recently won a prestigious international award. Yet, her story holds little meaning for fellow women officers back home who fight social stigma, poor pay and gender bias at work every day. Shazia Yousuf reports.

Some studies estimate that roughly 10 million Indians may be suffering from epilepsy. But social stigma and economic barriers are keeping treatment out of reach for the majority. Unlike polio, which has a national eradication programme, epilepsy treatment has seen no such focus yet, finds Varupi Jain.

Stressful apprenticeship in a system that is not geared to meet the medical needs of the majority makes junior doctors very different from the counterparts in other professions. Their strikes over questions of merit and reservation should not divert attention from this more important issue, says Abhijit Das.

Subramaniam Vincent follows the intrigue, as New Delhi seeks to weaken Right to Information laws on the one hand, and receives a proposal to strengthen RTI at the same time.

Residents of seven villages in Kolar district depend on water from the Mudiyanur tank which is not in good shape and in need of de-silting. Still, the villagers' worship of goddess Chowdeswari has helped them preserve an age-old tradition of water allocation, finds Surekha Sule.

Susan Mani looks at the issues involved in the coming together of government and NGOs to improve service delivery.

Maharashtra's sugar cooperatives helped raise hundreds of thousands of farmers out of high-risk choices, and brought a measure of economic security to the sugar belt. But over the years, big farmers have hijacked the original premise of the cooperative movement, and the region's prosperous past is now fading. Gagandeep Kaur reports.

Farmers in Datodi village in Yavatmal, Maharashtra, turned to sugarcane when the Chief Minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh, called on the debt-ridden cotton farmers of Vidarbha to shift to the sweet cane last year. They are now paying the price, reports Jaideep Hardikar.

It has been exactly a month since 23 tender lives were lost as children from a school in Gandaman village of Bihar died due to poisoning of the mid-day meals served at school. Anoo Bhuyan shares poignant shots from the village, capturing the sadness and sombre mood that prevails after the tragedy.

नासा (NASA) के वैज्ञानिकों हवाले से लिखा है कि 'पौधों की जड़ें और उनसे जुड़े सूक्ष्मजीव तब रोगजनक वायरस, बैक्टीरिया और कार्बनिक रसायनों को नष्ट करते हैं.

तरबूज खाने से शरीर को कई तरह से फायदा पहुंचता है. यह न केवल हेल्दी होता है बल्कि शरीर में पानी की कमी को पूरा करता है.

यात्री स्मार्ट ऐप के माध्यम से भी वाहन (e-rikshaw) बुक कर सकते हैं और अपनी सवारी के लिए डिजिटल रूप से भुगतान भी कर सकते हैं

फ्लिपकार्ट पर तीन दिन सस्ते में खरीदारी करने का मौका दिया जा रहा है. जानें बेस्ट डील के बारे में...

हम आपको बता रहें है ऐसी ट्रिक्स के बारे में जिनसे आपका मोबाइल सिग्नल स्ट्रॉन्ग रहे.

नवरात्रि २०१९, डांडिया: अभी से कर लें डांडिया नाइट और गरबा की तैयारी ताकि आखरी समय पर कुछ जरूरी चीज छूट न जाए...

असमय बाल सफेद होने की वजह (Reason of Premature White Hair): जानें समय से पहले क्यों सफ़ेद हो रहे हैं बाल...

ड्रेस से झांकते ये स्ट्रेच मार्क्स काफी भद्दे लगते हैं. कई लोग ऐसे भी होते हैं जो स्ट्रेच मार्क्स की वजह से ही स्टाइलिश कपड़े कैरी नहीं कर पाते हैं.

हम आपके लिए लेकर आए हैं कुछ घरेलू नुस्खें (Home remedies) जिन्हें अपनाकर आप चेहरे के अनचाहे बालों से छुटकारा पा सकती हैं.

TOI has come across a documentary evidence, which shows that the AIBA had started exploring the potential candidate to partner as new host city for the tournament in November 2019 itself, despite being in contract with the BFI for the prestigious event.

केरल कैडर की आईपीएस मेरिन जोसेफ विवादों में घिर गई हैं। उन्होंने ड्यूटी के समय ऑफिसियल ड्रेस में एक्टर के साथ फोटो खिंचाकर सोशल मीडिया पर डाल दिया था।

Ind vs NZ Super Over: India win but not without hiccups

इस वर्ष 5 जून को चंद्र ग्रहण और 21 जून को सूर्य ग्रहण है. इन दोनों ही ग्रहणों को भारत में देखा जा सकेगा.

सॉल्ट स्पा के लिए आप घर में सामान्य तौर पर पाया जाने वाला सादा नमक, सेंधा नमक का इस्तेमाल कर सकते हैं.

महिलाएं घर में ही बने शुगर स्‍क्रब की मदद से डेड स्किन से छुटकारा पा सकती हैं. चीनी का इस्तेमाल कर आप बड़ी ही आसानी से घर बैठकर अपने चेहरे को ग्‍लोइंग और मुलायम बना सकती हैं.

वास्तु टिप्स (Vastu Tips): अगर घर में कोई वास्तु दोष है तो न केवल घर के सदस्यों की तरक्की में दिक्कत आएगी बल्कि उनके दैनिक जीवन में भी कई परेशानियां आ सकती हैं...

दूध की मलाई के फायदे (Milk Cream Beauty Tips) : मलाई का फेस पैक चेहरे पर कुदरती चमक लेकर आती है. इस घर अपर बनाने के लिए दूध की मलाई में ...

नैचुरल तरीके से अपर लिप्स के बालों को हटाने के लिए दही, बेसन और हल्दी का पेस्ट बेस्ट है. ये त्वचा को एक्सफोलिएट करता है. साथ ही टैनिंग की समस्या को भी दूर करता है.

Perhaps outnumbering its regular guardians of the law India has a self-appointed ‘moral police’ — who dictate what people may or may not do — as well as a ‘book police’ who regulate what people can read or write. Now, if Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung has his way, the capital might have a ‘veggie police’ as well.

Precious time of the nation and its leadership is being wasted on a non-issue, namely Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)’s new Civil Service Aptitude Test (CSAT).

Police have decided to take stringent measures against the violation of lockdown norms in the capital city

The body of a 40-year-old woman from Masaliya block area of the district is lying in a local morgue since May 3, as local authorities are yet to get reports of her swab samples.