In another revelation of the report, a more than 10 percentage point drop was witnessed in government school children’s ability to do standard arithmetic over the last year.

The Annual Status of Education Report 2012 has revealed the standard of school education is not up to the mark in rural India, and claimed over half the children in these areas were at least three grade levels behind in reading and arithmetic abilities.

In an effort to improve school infrastructure across states affected by Left-wing extremism, the government has taken a positive view for allowing construction of prefabricated school buildings in these areas.

Two decades after Hindu-Muslim riots ravaged Mumbai (then Bombay), the government has given the go-ahead for a foreign filmmaker to shoot a film on the subject. Masala will be shot in Mumbai and has Bollywood heartthrob Deepika Padukone in a leading role.

The government has permitted the shooting of a biopic on Princess Diana in India. The film’s producers hope to recreate Lahore and other parts of Pakistan while shooting at locations in New Delhi, Punjab and Haryana after the Pakistan government refused permission.

The 43rd International Film Festival of India was inaugurated in Panaji, Goa, on Tuesday in a glittering ceremony that celebrated the 100 years of Indian cinema.

Chhattisgarh, the state worst affected by Naxal violence, has urged the Centre to formulate a comprehensive policy to deal with left-wing extremism and to take steps to initiate a dialogue with the re

The UPA government has claimed success in winning the propaganda war in Jammu and Kashmir.

The government’s proposal to hand over Tibetan schools funded and run by the HRD ministry to the Tibetan government-in-exile may be delayed further.

Central universities and institutions affiliated to University Grants Commission (UGC) are set to award bachelor’s degree in vocational education from academic year 2013-14.