-The Guardian Universal healthcare is often presented as an idealistic goal that remains out of reach for all but the richest nations. That's not the case, writes Amartya Sen. Look at what has been achieved in Rwanda, Thailand and Bangladesh Twenty-five hundred years ago, the young Gautama Buddha left his princely home, in the foothills of the Himalayas, in a state of agitation and agony. What was he so distressed about?...

-The Hindu It will need a caring partnership between the Dongria Kondh, civil society organisations and the government to figure out how to navigate the very difficult terrain the tribals face Till last week, I'd never visited Niyamgiri, scene of the iconic fight between the Dongria Kondh tribal group and Vedanta, a powerful multinational corporation bent on mining in the area. So why have I titled this ‘revisiting Niyamgiri'? Partly because I've...

-Business Standard Chhattisgarh reports the highest ratio of 970 while Haryana records the lowest (864) India's sex ratio at birth has risen one point - from 908 in 2010-2012 to 909 in 2011-2013 - according to the latest sample registration system. In rural areas, the ratio was 910, while in urban areas, it stood at 906. The ratio saw a marked difference across states. While Chhattisgarh reported the highest ratio of 970, Haryana...

-The Hindu None of our Teacher Education programmes has ever seriously tried to achieve a clear and convincing enough understanding of what one tries to achieve through education. It always has been a rhetoric of larger aims and working for myopically understood parental and market aspirations All curricula are situated in contexts and are simultaneously guided by ideals. Therefore, an understanding of and a balance between the two is essential. We have succeeded...

-Livemint.com Some 50,000 women in India died during childbirth and from pregnancy-related complications in 2013, according to estimates by United Nations agencies Melbourne/Mumbai: Sita Devi was in labour when her family paid the day's first bribe. The wife of Shivvaran Pal, a subsistence farmer whom she'd married at 15, Sita worked on their land and earned a monthly wage of Rs.1,000, about $16, cooking school lunches. By 23, she had three daughters...