U.P.'s GDP grew at 7.28 per cent in the past five years, but the State ranks low in virtually every area of socio-economic development. IF statistics on gross domestic product (GDP) are the only criteria to evaluate the performance of a government, the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government in Uttar Pradesh will have to be rated as one with highly impressive credentials. For, India's most populous State has recorded a...

Two ministries concerned with rural development are at loggerheads over running of the government's flagship scheme- the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The agriculture ministry is protesting the way the Rs 40, 000 crore programme is being executed, saying it has increased the burden on agriculture, which is showing just about two percent growth now.   "State-level studies by the Agro Economic Research Centres on wage rate, food security...

In the first high-level red-flag against the UPA government’s flagship Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that while assets created under the NREGA “may or may not have productive use”, the programme was “adversely” impacting the agriculture sector by “drawing out agriculture labourers from agricultural operations”.   In a letter sent to the prime minister late last month, Pawar is...

IndiaEducationDiary.in   With a number of States facing constraints in implementing the historic Right to Education (RTE) Act, various stakeholders, including academics, policy makers and education experts, will share a podium here on December 21 to deliberate on innovative policy ideas aimed at universalizing quality education for all children. The experts, coming together at a national conference, will also discuss in detail the critical issues plaguing the Indian education sector, especially for children...

Eminent neurologist says kids should not be robbed of their right to grow in a natural way by “restricting [their] learning competence” with education in a foreign language like English An award-winning Jaipur-based neurologist has advocated imparting primary education to children in their mother-tongue, saying it would produce youngsters possessing “fundamentally strong personalities” bestowed with wisdom, motivation, better communication skills and creativity. In his new study, Dr. Ashok Panagariya – honoured with...