Indian schools have a long way to go before they meet conditions required under the landmark Right to Education Act, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), 2010 released today by NGO Pratham said. This was the first time that the RTE Act -- implemented from April 1, 2010 -- was factored into the survey. Rated on seven infrastructure parameters they are required to meet under the RTE Act, only 3%...
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India's hidden climate change catastrophe by Alex Renton
Over the past decade, as crops have failed year after year, 200,000 farmers have killed themselves Naryamaswamy Naik went to the cupboard and took out a tin of pesticide. Then he stood before his wife and children and drank it. "I don't know how much he had borrowed. I asked him, but he wouldn't say," Sugali Nagamma said, her tiny grandson playing at her feet. "I'd tell him: don't worry, we...
More »Going Hungry in the Richest Nation on Earth by Matthew O Berger
While many U.S. residents prepare for their annual Thanksgiving feast Thursday, one in six are at risk of hunger – including a quarter of all children in the country. Globally, 925 million people, or a little less than 15 percent of the world population, is undernourished. Ironically, Washington's efforts to alleviate hunger abroad may be more successful than at home, analysts say. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's estimate last week that 49...
More »NAC Working Group to draft Food Security Bill, reforming PDS by Joseph Alexander
The National Advisory Council (NAC), which recently approved subsidised food for 75 per cent of population, has entrusted the task of drafting the Food Security Bill with a Working Group on food security for the consideration of the Council meeting, slated for November 26. The NAC working committee, while finalising the details of the Bill, will also look into proposals for introducing some reforms in the PDS system to efficiently carry...
More »Implement food security scheme in two phases: NAC by Smita Gupta
The framework for food security, cleared by the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council on Saturday, if implemented, will entail an additional expenditure of Rs.15,137 crore annually in the first phase. It is slated to kick off next year and will cost Rs. 23,231 crore annually when the entire population is covered by March 2014. Assuming an offtake of 85-90 per cent, the procurement will have to go up from 55 million...
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