-The Times of India RANCHI: Noted economist Jean Dreze has accused the Centre of violating National Food Security Act by depriving a section of women from maternity benefits which is otherwise guaranteed under NFSA-2013. Survey conducted by Sakina Dhorajiwala of Libtech India along with students from Delhi University, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Tata Institute of Social Service (TISS) and Ranchi University in June 2019 has revealed that out of 232 eligible...

-The Hindu Angul Pusti Adhikar Abhiyan, a community level forum organized this ‘egg relay competition’ to promote intake of nutritious food. BHUBANESWAR: When there is a lot of taboo around consumption of egg and chicken products among women in remote Odisha villages, mothers competing with their kids in swallowing boiled eggs in Angul district is surely an unusual sight. But Angul Pusti Adhikar Abhiyan (APAA), a community level forum promoting intake of nutritious...

  In the month of June this year, encephalitis related deaths in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district grabbed the headlines. Actually, most of the children, who were admitted or died at Shri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH), hailed from East Champaran, Vaishali, Sitamarhi and Samastipur apart from Muzaffarpur. Unfortunately, till recently official data on the number of cases and deaths related to Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) was unavailable for...

-The Hindu What the draft National Education Policy omits in its chapter on early childhood care and education The draft National Education Policy starts its opening sentence with a hitherto little-known fact: “The learning process for a child commences immediately at birth.” Many believe that children start learning only in school. It is true that language and numerical proficiency, and analytical skills, are attained in school, but the foundation for such a...

-The Hindu It is imperative to promote community-based care rather than relying only on hospital services The deaths of 154 children in Bihar due to acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) has laid bare the precarious capacity of the State’s healthcare apparatus to handle outbreaks. AES has been linked to two factors: litchi consumption by starving children and a long, ongoing heat wave. As promises of bolstering the health infrastructure are being made, it...