Handloom weavers in Andhra Pradesh are in a crisis brought on by policy blindness and the emphasis on powerlooms. WHEN P. Pulliah, a weaver in the traditional cotton handloom centre of Chirala in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh, describes the sarees he crafts, thread by delicate thread, his face lights up with joy. He animatedly explains that the sarees have a border on both sides. And they are fully embellished, he...
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Unpalatable truths by TK Rakalakshmi
The hunger and malnutrition situation in the country has shown marginal improvement, according to the HUNGaMA report. ONE area that has always bothered policymakers in a growth-obsessed economy is the state of the social sector, in particular figures indicating the numbers of people going hungry or are homeless and children who are out of school, the poor nutritional status of women and children, and the high infant and maternal mortality rates....
More »Missing demographic dividend? by Arup Mitra
The results of the NSS 66th round survey (2009-10) on employment and unemployment show a striking decline in the female labour force and the workforce participation rates as per all the three criteria (the usual, weekly and daily status) in rural and urban areas as compared to 2004-05. Even among urban males, there is a decline in the rates as per the usual and weekly status, though the daily status...
More »Farmers feel left out by Latha Jishnu & Jyotika Sood
The budget is more concerned about the consumer than the grower A LOOMING food crisis in the world and high food inflation rates at home made Pranab Mukherjee’s proposals to boost agriculture in his 2011 budget more keenly watched than usual. These are factors that clearly weighed with the finance minister who repeatedly said that his principal concern this year has been the continuing high food prices. The squeeze on the...
More »Increase outlay for higher and technical education by Dhiraj Mathur
The government passed the historic Right to Education Act (RTE Act) making education a fundamental right of every child.The Act makes it obligatory for the government to ensure that every child in the six to 14 years age group gets free elementary education.According to government estimates, there are nearly 220 million children in the relevant age group, of which 4.6%, or nearly 9.2 million, are out of school.Under the Act,...
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