The state government has decided to create special training centres for out-of-school children as part of implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act. The Department of Basic Education has already created the detailed proposal for these centres, which has been duly approved by the Centre. These centres will be providing special training to about 95,000 children, aged between 6 to 14 years, who are not enrolled in schools. Retired teachers...

Tembhali, a remote village with a population of 1,552 in the Satpura range of tribal-dominated NandurBar district, wears a festive look. It has undergone a total facelift with tarred roads, painted walls, banners and posters — largely of the ruling Congress party — and uninterrupted power supply. The reason for this makeover: the village will host the launch of the Centre’s much-vaunted Unique Identification programme, or Aadhaar, by Prime Minister Manmohan...

Members of the National Advisory Council (NAC) Aruna Roy and Jean Dreze have accused the UPA government of being “increasingly anti-labour” in their assessement of the national rural employment guarantee programme, on its fifth anniversary. With support from several activists associated with the government’s flagship social sector scheme, they have alleged that the “contractor mafia”is increasingly dominating in the states, minimising the potential to create remunerative employment through the programme. According to...

A committee set up by the government has suggested freeing the prices of urea and inclusion of the fertiliser in the new nutrient-based subsidy scheme to discourage its excessive use, stem soil degradation and reduce government subsidy. The panel, led by former agriculture secretary T Nanda Kumar, also recommended a “comparatively higher level” of subsidy for critical nutrients like sulphur, zinc and boron to make them affordable to farmers.   The nutrient-based subsidy...

Soon, the National Food Security Act  will become law. The ruling United Progressive Alliance flagship social security programme of providing every Below the Poverty Line (BPL) family with 25 kg of rice or wheat at Rs 3 per kg per month is a welcome step to alleviate some of the human trauma that haunts the poor in our country. The government also hopes that the Act will secure freedom from...