The government of India's Sarvashiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is preparing to provide education to at least 50,000 students in the state, in the age bracket of 5 to 14. This project, 65% of whose cost is being borne by the Centre and the rest by the state government, will educate children who're presently deprived of schooling. The total cost of the initiative is slated to be Rs1,330 crore for the present financial...

IN THE ‘environment versus development’ debate, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh opted to take the middle path. Addressing environmental concerns was important but it cannot be at the cost of perpetuating poverty, he said. Lest pro-industry groups mistake his stance as undiluted support, Mr Singh stressed that environmental concerns are “here to stay.” If the Greens felt that their writ would run, they too were to be disappointed. He has made...

“Supreme Court should not go into realm of policy formulation” The government will do all it can to provide affordable food to those below the poverty line but cannot implement the Supreme Court's order to give free foodgrains to the poor, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Monday. In an interaction with a small group of editors at his residence — his first in several years — Dr. Singh handled questions on...

We need to make sure nutrition is not easily neglected. And that means putting pressure on leaders throughout society to focus on nutrition. I have just finished a trip to India to help contribute to the efforts on ending malnutrition. The politicians and media were talking about the sparkling new economic growth and development figures. There was no such attention given to the “other” growth and development figures — those related...

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday virtually ticked off the Supreme Court, saying that it "should not get into policy formation". The trigger for this rebuke was the apex court's anger at grains rotting in FCI and government godowns, and its direction to agriculture minister Sharad Pawar to distribute grains for free to families living below the poverty line. Talking to a group of editors on Monday morning, Singh said...