DoE to start admissions for EWS students for Class 2 and above against vacant seats
The Directorate of Education (DoE) has directed all District Deputy Directors (DDEs) to collect and update data on the current and expected vacancies across schools. The data will be verified with support from DDE Zone officials and Directorate of Education nominees.
The DoE in a circular dated July 10, stated that as per the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, schools are under an obligation to admit children from weaker sections against 25% of the total seats in elementary classes.
The DoE added that vacancies in higher classes need to be filled, and the Delhi High Court had allowed it to develop a mechanism to fill these vacant seats of the EWS category from Class 2 and above, as well. It stated that it had done so for the past three academic sessions.
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Bar code: Will MRP rules curb inflated label prices?
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The meeting discussed irrational pricing, and industry executives and consumer groups were urged to come up with suggestions to make the pricing mechanism more consumer-friendly and "aligned with the current taxation system," said the third person. 'Such anomalies, including that of differential pricing, are expected to be addressed through amendments or stricter enforcement under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009, which empowers the ministry of consumer affairs to act against unfair pricing and deceptive practices," the third person added. MRP meeting Representatives of industry organizations such as FICCI, Assocham, Confederation of Indian Industry, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Retailers Association of India, as well as officials from the Goods and Services Tax Council and legal metrology controllers from all states and union territories attended the meeting, said the third person, who attended the meeting. Queries emailed to all of the above remained unanswered. 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At present, GST is levied on the transaction value, which may not always be the MRP. 'Since the introduction of GST in 2017, we can't say that MRPs are necessarily high or arbitrary or vary for different places—because there's no legal binding on manufacturers to explain or justify pricing, unless the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) intervenes," said Ashim Sanyal, CEO of Consumer Voice, a consumer rights organization. 'In the pre-GST era, taxes were levied on the MRP itself—both central and local. This made companies cautious about increasing MRPs, as higher prices directly meant higher tax outgo. It acted as a natural deterrent to inflating prices. With the current system, where GST is applied at the transaction level, manufacturers have greater pricing freedom. In effect, consumers today are at the mercy of companies putting any amount as MRP—which remains legal under existing norms," Sanyal said. 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