Across the world, middle class families are dealing with the consequences of competition to get into high-quality institutions.
How Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung handles the fight with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the issue of appointment of a chief secretary will be an interesting insight into his personality, says Aditi Phadnis
David Cameron, who became Britain's youngest prime minister since 1812 when he won elections in 2010, on Friday surprised everyone by securing a majority for the Conservatives against all odds to allow his party to govern alone for the first time in more than two decades.
Here's a collection of images of the past week.
'So potent is the menace of false news that scientists have now devised a psychological vaccine to target it,' says Veena Sandhu.
Watch it for a slightly different feel and cast.
"Judge Gorsuch has a superb intellect, an unparalleled legal education, and a commitment to interpreting the Constitution according to its text. He will make an incredible Justice as soon as the Senate confirms him," said the US president.
Lloyd and Sussane Rudolph -- two University of Chicago professors who started studying Indian politics in the 1950s, have been named the winners of the Padma Bhushan Award.
If an elected government had been sworn in, Jung's tenure and the government would have been more or less co-terminus and Jung would have been just the ceremonial head of Delhi. Now, he will run Delhi, pending another round of assembly elections, says Aditi Phadnis
'Not allowing people to speak or listen is the biggest act of anti-nationalism,' says Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, one of India's finest poets.
Moved by three-year-old Aylan Kurdi's death, Vidhya Ramalingam has kick-started a crowd-funding campaign to buy a rescue ship for immediate action in the Mediterranean.
For many years now, India has given the Commonwealth short shrift so its support for the Commonwealth trade initiative signals a renewed interest in the body.
Well-known Islamic scholar and cleric Maulana Salman Hussain Nadwi is under fire from different quarters for attempting to run down the Imam of the Islamic world's most revered Mecca mosque.
Double tax exemption on wages paid to women can encourage companies to hire, retain and compensate women better, argues Nitin Pai.
Here's your weekly dose of weird, true and funny news from around the world.
A V Rajwade wonders if the Modi sarkar is pursuing price stability at the cost of potential social instability in both rural and urban India.
Saima Hasan, founder and chief executive officer of Roshni Academy that works to empower girls from government schools in New Delhi and surrounding areas to achieve their full potential in college, jobs and life in general, tells P Rajendran what drew her to help poor girls.
'Our passionate love for our nation as seen in our anger at slogan shouters does not extend to caring for the nation in other ways. We are one of the dirtiest people on earth and even our holiest river the Ganga can only be cleaned if the Supreme Court orders it, and even then with difficulty,' says Aakar Patel.
Relations between an elected government of Delhi and the LG can never be cordial: It is just the way the relationship is structured.
'Jaffrey played all his roles with a characteristic elan and amiability: He looked like a clever, all-knowing, winking Super Mario, gloriously grey around the edges. Irresistible, really.'
'There were days when there was no rice at home and we ate only jackfruit seeds.' 'They feel I, a lowliest human being, a tribal, have no right to go abroad and study.' 'The humiliation was so bad that I was broken inside.'
'While India's 'secularism' is a matter of cultural values rooted in Hinduism, the Western concept became one of rights rooted in legal rights. India would be secular with or without Article 25 of the Constitution,' says T V R Shenoy.
'The number of deaths attributable to warming is likely to rise in the future.'
Naipaul's views against the commonplace perception towards colonised countries and their people were not the only thing controversial about the famed author.
'The execution has been 100 per cent faulty.' 'The scheme is also a stupid one, a real Tuglaq Darbar scheme.' 'This way of attacking black money is the most ineffective one.'
Mita Kapur has an irresistible love affair... and she's willing to do anything to keep it going.
Privatisation is still regarded as beyond the pale but public-private partnerships have gained in popularity.
The RBI governor-designate may be economical with spoken words, but is known for his sharp and critical writings
How soon can India reach a point when there is no hidden underemployment and all who want work can find it at a fair wage and decent work conditions, asks Nitin Desai.
Banning meat is cruel demonetisation. It is stealing from the poor, nothing less, writes Sunita Narain.
To be held alongside the Japur Literature Festival, the three-day BookMark conference will look at different aspects of the publishing industry -- from self-publishing to e-books, digital content to distribution.
'That is not a democratic ideal obviously, but it is a practical reality.' 'It is a consistent feature of politicians in Pakistan that their rhetoric on the army softens the closer they get to the seat of power.'
Mukund Rajan, who worked closely with Ratan Tata, recalls the unique experience of working with the corporate titan.
'She leaned forward and asked what I'd want -- and I said, "your blessings".' 'She smiled and replied, "You already have that, but tell me how I can help you".' Commonwealth gold medalist and Arjuna Awardee Roopa Unnikrishnan recalls how Jayalalithaa took her breath away.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushma Swaraj is a fighter who follows her own code. Those who think she's a pushover are making a mistake, says Aditi Phadnis
Kota, Rajasthan, is both a beacon for the educationally deprived and a cynical place in which 16-year-olds live in Dickensian boarding houses, while teachers drive Audis.
Apoorve Dubey lists out the 15 things that will make you a successful entrepreneur.
A left-leaning centralised socialist model has created a shortage/entitlement economy. In fact one of the reasons for India's limited progress is that post-independent India is at odds with its true nature. It is something that educated right of centre Hindus are trying to correct, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
Sterling was last at $1.4450, having carved out a massive range of $1.4000 to $1.5022.
'India has been placed at a level, which would ensure that red tape is cut away. That's the biggest assurance that one can get -- the biggest takeaway.'
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