The Trinamul Congress, a key ally of the Congress in the UPA, has joined hands with several state governments headed by the BJP and others to block the human resources development ministry’s proposal to set up a National Textbook Council. Besides the TMC and the BJP, the BSP, JD(U), AIADMK and BJD oppose it.

The government is set to expand the reach of national broadcasters, All-India Radio and Doordarshan, in tribal areas in the next few years. Most of these areas, affected by Maoist insurgency, will now be served by special programmes in tribal languages like Halbi, Gondi, Munda and Sargujia. The step has been initiated in an effort to reach out to the local population of the backward tribal regions of the country in their mother tongue.

The Union human resources development ministry’s higher education department has unveiled its citizen’s charter and set a time frame for service delivery and put in place redressal mechanism against delays.

Noose around the necks of corrupt babus and bureaucrats is being tightened in the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh. The state government will soon be armed with an act to confiscate properties of the bureaucrats acquired through corrupt means.

Dirty Picture was not a one off last year. One-fifth of all films released in the country last year were classified as “adult” by the Censor Board.

Law minister Salman Khurshid is unlikely to intervene in HRD ministry’s proposed move to establish National Council for Higher Education and Research, which proposes to acquire regulatory sway over legal education, despite serious objections being raised by the Bar Council of India.

In an effort to stop misinformation campaign being unleashed by the Maoists, terrorist outfits and unfriendly neighbouring countries, the government has increased its public contact programmes in Maoi

With an aim to complete digitisation of cable sector in the four metros in 2012, the Union information and broadcasting ministry is likely to seek the help of respective state governments.

The UPA government’s ambitious plan to reform higher education in the country has been delayed further and faces an uphill task for survival even as several important bills are stuck at various stages

The UPA government’s ambitious proposal to set up a National Educational Finance Corporation (NEFC) is likely to be shelved after being strongly opposed by the Planning Commission.