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Kapil Sibal Loves To Be News

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Otherwise, there is little that has merit in his hastily proposed new education policy _______________ Surajit Dasgupta _______________ T he then Science & Technology and Ocean Development (ST&OD) Minister, now the Minister for Human Resource Development, Kapil Sibal unknowingly made my transition from a teacher to a journalist a smooth affair. Hardly three days into what was then my new vocation, as I was still asking my colleagues for tips on journalism, came an invite from the ST&OD Ministry in The Statesman office. The subject matter for the press conference to be held at, no prizes for guessing, Shastri Bhawan, seemed inconsequential. So much so, I am unable to recall the subject now. When I asked my boss if it was needed that I be there, he asked me to hang around in the corridors of the Press Information Bureau nevertheless... to develop some contacts if for nothing else. With little pathbreaking research happening in India, and with a discovery or invention happeni

Remember Aakriti?

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A month or more after the shocking incident of an asthmatic girl's death inside a Delhi school for its authorities' negligence, the pressing need for sensitisation of the schools to the issue seems to have been relegated to the backburner ____________ Nithin Sridhar ____________ T he Government had, on 19 November 2007, set up the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights as a statutory body which would be authorised to summon and enforce the attendance of any person from any part of India and examining them on oath. Under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005, the national commission would have all the powers of the Civil Court while inquiring into matter under the CPC. The national commission, while inquiring into a matter, could warrant any document and receive evidence on affidavits from authorities concerned. It could also requisition any public record or copy thereof from any court of office. Apart from having the power to forward a case to a M