-Economic and Political Weekly   Through a two-way process comprising text analysis of the policy framework of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme and analysis of empirical data collected through interaction with policy implementers, teachers, students, experts, etc, this article puts forth the argument that urban education system has failed partly because of the inability of the implementers to plan, manage and facilitate the programme. Monika Banerjee (banerjie77@gmail.com) is with the Zakir Husain Centre...

-The Indian Express It is heartening that several ministries and companies have responded with alacrity to the prime minister's call for the construction of toilets. It is indicative not only of the PM's authority but also of the fact that the concern is widely shared. The ministry of rural development has proposed to increase the allocation for constructing individual, school, anganwadi and community toilets in rural areas. But it has proposed to...

-PTI WASHINGTON: A desalination technology powered by solar panels could provide enough clean, palatable drinking water to meet the needs of India's water-deficient villages, MIT scientists say. Sixty per cent of India is underlain by salty water - and much of that area is not served by an electric grid that could run conventional reverse-osmosis desalination plants. Please click here to read more. ...

-Down to Earth Entrepreneurs now see business opportunity in waste paper. The raddiwala employed with start-ups can be summoned to home with the click of a mouse or a phone call AMRINDER SINGH, 57, is a government employee living in south Delhi's Lajpat Nagar. His neighbours say he has a big heart-he donates generously for religious functions and other community services in his locality. His domestic help, too, is all praise for...

-Women's Feature Service Tribal families in Bankura, West Bengal, living on a stable diet of potato and rice and occasionally some 'daal' (lentils), are now consuming a variety of vegetables, cereals, fruits and animal protein with relish on a daily basis, marking a sea change in the nutrition parametres in one of the most backward districts of India. The credit for this dramatic transformation goes to the dry land sustainable integrated farming...