-The Times of India Prime Minister Modi said child malnutrition would be tackled on a "mission mode", his predecessor called it a national shame. Yet, policymaking is dependent on malnutrition data from 2005-06, with the data from the Rapid Survey on Children (RSOC) carried out by Unicef and the women and child development (WCD) ministry in 2013 yet to be made available. The data was sent to the health ministry for...

-The Indian Express The Bharat Krishak Samaj (BSK) has long urged the merger of the agriculture ministry with the water resources and rural development ministries, in the interests of better coordination. With cooperative federalism gaining currency as an idea, that might just become possible. Now, the panchayati raj and food processing ministries could join the club, leaving agriculture, for all practical purposes, to the states, as envisaged by the Constitution. But...

-The Hindu Nine amendments have been adopted. The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015, popularly known as the land bill, was adopted by the Lok Sabha after debating it for two days. Congress and Biju Janata Dal walked out ahead of the voting, to protest the removal of a clause that makes it mandatory to get farmers' consent prior to the acquisition of land...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Comptroller and Auditor General Shashi Kant Sharma on Tuesday emphasized on the need for mandatory social audit of social sector schemes as they lacked transparency and accountability. Speaking at a conference on social audit here, the CAG said expenditure of central and state governments that directly impacts socio-economic development was estimated to be Rs 17 lakh crore in 2013-2014. "This implies that an average of Rs 2,656...

-The Indian Express The budget aims at economic growth and social protection. This is welcome. So are provisions for financial inclusion, housing, water, sanitation and rural electrification. But there are also substantial cuts in crucial social sectors and key omissions that are likely to undermine its stated economic objectives. Consider agriculture, environment and women. First, double-digit growth or poverty reduction is unlikely without strong, sustained agricultural growth. In 2014-15, agriculture grew at...