-IBN   The statement of the Union Minister of State for Health, Mullappally Ramachandran, the other day that the local bodies had failed to utilise National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) funds comes as no surprise. * The last report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on the implementation NRHM in Kerala had pointed out in detail the deficiencies such as absence of a perspective plan, accumulation of huge unspent funds in banks,...

The Planning Commission, headed by the prime minister, has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court quantifying the daily poverty line for an adult as Rs 26 in rural, and Rs 32 in urban India. At today’s relentlessly increasing prices, Rs 26 will not get a manual worker even one nutritious meal a day — leave alone the 2,400 calories he is required to eat to enable him to work,...

Studies by the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Academic Forum on food security issues in the three countries suggest that providing food access works best when backed by cash transfers. A paper on food security brought out by the UNDP’s Brasilia-based International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG), under the Forum, shows that despite the great strides in food production made by India people in this country are just not eating enough. Citing indices...

-The Times of India   Anna Hazare's anti-corruption agitation and the UPA government's poor handling of it have cost the Congress dear, shaving off one-third of its support while boosting the popularity of its principal rival BJP. An opinion poll conducted by market researcher Nielsen for a TV channel has found that BJP has gained a 12-point lead since May, when it lagged behind the Congress. Nielsen, which gauged support for different parties...

It will be a mistake to assume that the food security bill, in its present form, will necessarily and sharply reduce India’s embarrassingly high rates of child malnutrition. Satiating hunger and providing nutrients that are essential for healthy growth and fitness are not quite the same thing, a fact highlighted by the leading medical journal Lancet in a recent research paper. The article says the prevalence of anaemia in India...