The inter-state comparison of 16 selected states in the latest “Economic Survey 2015-16”, released by the Government of India last week, has demonstrated that Gujarat has behind most of the Indian states in enrolling children to its schools, despite its much-publicized annual campaign in which the entire bureaucracy participates under the leadership of the chief minister.

In its just-released annual report, Amnesty International has sharply criticized the Government of India for arbitrarily arresting and detaining “human rights defenders, journalists and protesters”, pointing out how authorities have been using the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) to restrict organizations from receiving foreign funding and harass NGOs and activists.

BJP MP Udit Raj at JNU Mahishasur meet Union human resources minister Smriti Irani may have triggered hornet’s nest by declaring in Parliament on February 24 that celebrating Mahishasura martyrdom day in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) way back on October 4, 2014 was misuse of the “freedom of speech”. From early indications, reactions to the statement are likely to be sharp, especially among Dalits, Adivasis and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

Is Gujarat government not interested in non-resident Indian (NRI) supporters to officially know what’s happening in Gujarat, propagated as India’s model state? Facts have come light suggesting that the state’s information technology (IT) establishment has firewalled several Gujarat government websites’ access worldwide, except India, for security reasons.

Sadanand Dhume An America thinktank expert, writing in a top business daily, “The Wall Street Journal” (WSJ), has warned Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the Union budget that he should realize, “the famous Gujarat model is not working in Delhi”, adding, “A vast country cannot be run like a relatively homogenous state.”

  Soni Sori, widely recognized as the face of tribal people’s struggle in Chhattisgarh, has been attacked by acid-like black chemical, thrown on her face by unidentified persons in the state’s Bastar region. She reported an intense burning sensation to her colleagues, and was taken to a hospital in Jagdalpur town.

  Regretting “lack of clarity in public discourse”, a top Narendra Modi aide has declared that the Government of India (GoI) may not be able to pump in resources in its ambitious “Smart City initiative”. The aide, Bibek Debroy, has declared, even “interpreting smartness” is not a GoI concern.

Jagdalpur Legal Aid Group activists Two female human rights lawyers in Chhattisgarh belonging to the Jagdalpur Legal Aid Group (JagLAG), who recently took up the cause of journalist Malini Subramaniam, a scroll.in contributor, are under threat, and are under pressure to leave their residence following "harassment and intimidation" by the police.

Construction underway for the Art of Living event Top environmentalists, social activists and former bureaucrats have taken strong exception to “clearing, compacting, dumping of earth and construction underway over some 1,000 acres of active flood plain of river Yamuna in Delhi” for the 35th anniversary of the Art of Living Foundation in March 2016.

 Contrary to the notion spread by free market economists close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who believe huge state funds are being “wasted away” on social safety net programmes meant to benefit the poor, a World Bank  report  says, India spends just about 0.72 per cent of the Gross National Product (GDP) on them.

Per person labour productivity in US$ (2014 prices) India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra), an associate of the New York-based Fitch Group, has suggested that India’s Gross National Product (GDP) growth is unlikely to grow by 9%, as predicted by the Government of India, because labour productivity of late has been progressively going down, with no signs of improvement.

  An estimated 49,000 families, or over 234,000 people, in urban areas were evicted forcefully from their homes between 2010 and 2015, according to information collated by the Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN), which represents tens of people’s organizations fighting for housing rights across India.

  India’s urban housing shortage, which was estimated to be 18.78 million units by 2012-end, is expected to grow by a “compound annual growth rate of 6.6 per cent over the next decade, the Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN) has said, adding, 95 per cent of this shortage is of the economically weaker sections (EWS) and lower income group (LIG).

Female participation rate in India in MGNREGA By Our Representative Recently released data has  suggested  that, in 2014-15, the participation of Gujarat women in the Government of India’s premier rural guarantee scheme of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), at 43 per cent, is higher than just seven other major Indian states out of 21.

Javdekar In yet another move to “remove” alleged hurdles in the way of coming with “developmental” projects, the Government of India is all set to undermine Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) and Carrying Capacity Studies (CSS), which have been an important part of the environment impact assessment process of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

Voting percentage 2012: Congress A fresh  study  by top French scholar Christophe Jaffrelot should serve as a warning signal to those who believe the BJP would "lose" the 2017 Gujarat state assembly elections. Basing on shifting Other Backward Class (OBC) voter base data compiled by him, Jaffrelot believes, despite a little erosion in the BJP’s middle class upper caste base, there has been a clear “OBC-isation of BJP”, suggesting a new political trend in Gujarat.

Is BJP high command losing faith in Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel? It would seem so, if looks into how it fielded Gujarat BJP spokesperson IK Jadeja, a small fry, to “deny” a top  media report , which pointed to a “scam” in which business group associated with her daughter was allocated 250 acres of prime land off Gir lions sanctuary at the rate of just Rs 15 per square metre.

Urban population (%): UN estimates A recent United Nations  report  predicts that, contrary to Government of India claims that Make in India campaign will boost urbanization, the country’s urban population is unlikely to grow fast enough. The report says, in 2014, India had 32.4 per cent population living in urban areas, and it will rise to 50.3 per cent by 2050, the pace of growth is likely to go down, and will be far away from the world average.

  The Environmental Justice Atlas (EJAtlas), ejatlas.org, an online portal claiming to “help” academic and public policymakers across the world in identifying exemplary cases of peoples’ resistance against climate change and environment degradation, has said that India has the highest number of cases of environmental conflicts than anywhere else in the world.

PEN International's Salil Tripathi with Rajmohan Gandhi at Navsari It was the first secular intellectual gathering in decades in Gujarat. The spot was Dandi in Gujarat, where Mahatma Gandhi observed his famous Salt Satyagraha in 1930. Around 500 writers, artistes and activists from across the country gathered to unite and speak out against the rise of communalism in the country, and support Gandhian values.

Is stage being prepared for the ouster of the Anandiben Patel government in Gujarat? It would seem so, if two recent tweets, by senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, where he seeks to identify a scheming mole in touch with a top Congress leader, are any indication. Swamy has lately gone very close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, one reason why whatever he says about powerdom acquires significance. He does not, however, identify this person.

In a gruesome incident, young Ambedkarite social activist, working among South Gujarat tribal farmers, Romel Sutariya, was attacked by unidentified persons in the Tapi district collector’s premises on Feruary 2, injuring him. He had to hospitalized, and his leg was plastered as it suffered a fracture. The attack took place, Sutariya, 25, said in an email, as he was going for a hearing in the district collector’s office regarding illegal sand mining, rampant in the district. “The papers in my possession regarding illegal mining, which we had obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, and on the basis of which were considering to talk to officials, were snatched”, he said.

A Greenpeace campaign poster There are fresh indications that the Australian greens may now be fighting a losing battle against India's powerful Adani Group’s $16.5 billion coal-mining project in Carmichael, next to the delicate marine ecosystem, Great Barrier Reef, in the Queensland province of Australia. They are accusing authorities of complete sellout on environmental front.

In a controversial exposure, well-known journalist Shekhar Gupta has said that roots of the RSS-BJP's alleged “Hindu-isation gameplan” in Arunachal Pradesh – cited in the wake of the recent imposition of President’s rule in the state – can be found in “Jawaharlal Nehru's Hindi-isation policy” in what was once known as North East Frontier Province (NEFA).

Gender equity: Incremental GDP 2025 in full potential scenario A recently-released  study  by one of the world’s most prestigious consultants, McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), has estimated that women in India contribute just 17 percent to the Gross National Product (GDP) as against 37 percent global average, as a result of which the country is losing out 1.4 per cent in terms of annual GDP growth. The study says that, if India were to achieve its “full potential” of gender equity, the country could add an annual GDP to the tune of $2.9 trillion by 2025, which is 60 percent higher compared to what it calls "business-as-usual case."