-Economic and Political Weekly The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has made public the National Health Policy 2015 Draft for discussion. The draft is more exhaustive and better organised in its coverage compared to the National Health Policy of 2002. It touches upon contemporary issues of concern, including the rapid emergence of chronic non-communicable diseases. From the latest available evidence, issues crucial to tackling chronic illness in India are discussed. Subrata...
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New child labour law will hit girls, dalits and OBCs most
-Hindustan Times It was a showpiece legislation when it was launched by the UPA government in 2009. The Right to Education, many hoped, would ensure a decent level of primary education to those who cannot afford expensive private education. The scheme started with much fanfare, but in a few years, reports started coming out that while enrolment in schools has shot up (almost 99% now), the quality of education has not...
More »Pursuing zero hunger -Varun Gandhi
-Asian Age Children born in India are, on average, shorter than those born in sub-Saharan Africa. Even worse, 255 million Indians remain food insecure, eating less than 2,100 calories daily. Jharkhand reports the lowest per capita calorie intake (1,900 Kcal) in rural areas, while West Bengal hovers similarly (1,851 Kcal) in urban areas. We have attempted to meet this challenge through legislation. Aside from the Right to Food Bill, the landmark...
More »The Importance of Being 'Rurban': Tracking Changes in a Traditional Setting -Dipankar Gupta
-Economic and Political Weekly A categorical distinction is facing rough weather--that between urban and rural. If we take just agriculture, there is so much of the outside world that comes in not just as external markets but as external inputs. Further, many of our villages barely qualify as rural if we were to take occupation alone. So the earlier line that separated the farmer from the worker in towns is slowly...
More »Between RTE and Make in India, a gap -Rukmini Banerji
-The Indian Express There is a strange gap in India - a gap for young people between the ages of 14 and 18. The Right to Education (RTE) Act guarantees free and compulsory education up to the age of 14. The Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 for the care and protection of children (Section 26) prohibits the employment of children below the age of 18. Rough calculations suggest that today, the 14-18 population...
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