Political and Social Issues

The college admission season in the country, in addition to making students anxious, increases the stress on educational institutions.
The annual ritual of ranking by different media groups is eagerly awaited by students, their families
Those organising the seasonal ritual go to great lengths to highlight the elaborate process of assessment. Diverse aspects are measured — infrastructure, facilities, faculty, staff-student ratios, job placements, research output, budgets, etc.
Perceptions are given more credence than facts; perceptual ranks and factual data are combined using complex statistical jugglery to produce the final league tables. Year on year, these tables are dominated by the usual suspects, albeit with minor shifts in position, so necessary to maintain credibility and interest in the process.
The ranking based on social mission differed substantially from the rankings that focussed on subjective perceptions of reputation and those that concentrated on the research funding received.
Ranking systems encourage lazy and simplistic forms of thought: good school, good graduate; bad school, bad graduate.
Most Indian ranking systems prefer non-systematic sampling of professional opinion and hearsay. They then add a dose of concrete facts such as infrastructural details, faculty-student ratios and research grants to fashion these elite status lists.
However, the fact that these ranks may not reflect the quality of graduates or the priorities for India is hardly a concern.

India will launch its maiden bid round for exploration of shale gas during the XII Plan (2012-17) with an aim to meet its rising energy needs
Shale gas or natural gas trapped in sedimentary rocks (shale formations) below the earth's surface is the new focus area in the U.S., Canada and China as an alternative to conventional oil and gas for meeting the growing energy needs.
As per available data, six basins — Cambay (in Gujarat), Assam-Arakan (in the Northeast), Gondawana (in central India), KG onshore (in Andhra Pradesh), Cauvery onshore and Indo Gangatic basins, hold shale gas potential.
Legislative changes will be required for shale gas exploration.
Under the current policy, exploration and production of conventional oil and gas and coal bed methane (CBM) is allowed.
However, shale gas exploration faces several challenges such as the availability of water and vast tracts of land.
3-4 gallons of water were required per well for hydraulic fracturing.
India's gas demand was likely to rise from 290 million standard cubic metres a day in 2012-13 to 470 mscmd in 2016-17. Against this, domestic supply will increase from 124 mscmd to 220-230 mscmd only. The balance has to be met through either imports or through unconventional energy sources such as shale gas.
India has signed an MoU with the U.S. for assessment of shale gas resource and developing policy framework to exploitation of the resource

The Supreme Court has indicated that it may ask the Central government to set up special courts to try cases of damage done to public property in agitations.
Special courts would be directed to dispose of these cases within three months.
Justice Singhvi told counsel for the Centre that the court would also monitor the prosecution of those calling rail and road blockade as part of the measures to prevent losses running into crores of rupees.
Justice Singhvi told him that the Centre must devise a mechanism for ensuring better coordination among the police and other security agencies to deal with agitators who damaged railway property and government buses.
In a rail roko agitation in Faridabad two years ago, several trains were stopped and their windowpanes smashed with no resistance from anybody.
He said it was unfortunate that the country seemed to have an unlimited tolerance.
Justice Mukhopadhaya made it clear that if the government did not come out with proposals, “the government would be left with no option but to implement the court order.”