-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Even as minority politics takes centrestage in the wake of recent riots in Uttar Pradesh, a report by the Council for Social Development shows how the UPA government has failed to implement the recommendations of the Sachar Committee, with its response to Muslim deprivation at best being "cautious and minimalist". The report said most of the benefits intended for minorities were being cornered by either...

-Outlook Raipur: Chhattisgarh has been selected for this year's prestigious National Literacy Award for the first time since its formation in November 2000. "For the first time after formation of the state, Chhattisgarh has been selected for the Literate Indian National Literacy Award as it has attained remarkable achievements in the field of literacy," an official statement said today. "Korea district and its village panchayat Patna will also get this award along with...

-Outlook Against the backdrop of death of 23 children in the mid-day meal tragedy in Bihar last month, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the scheme will be reformed and "concrete measures" will be taken to ensure that meals provide under it are nutritious and cooked hygienically. Addressing the nation from the ramparts of historic Red Fort on the 67th Independence Day, he said the "tragedy" which happened in Bihar should not...

-Frontline The midday meal scheme is a grand idea in a flawed school system. "THEY played here, studied here and got buried here!" (Yahin khela, yahin padha aur yahin ho gaya dafan). With these emphatic words, grieving parents buried the bodies of two children within the compound of the Dharmasati Gandaman Primary School of Masharakh block in Saran district of Bihar. This sentiment was expressed with great dignity even in the...

-The Hindustan Times Nutrition and attendance, these are the two cornerstones in the drive for the universalisation of education. And it was precisely these two reasons that the scheme to provide mid-day meals (MDM) was launched in State-run schools. This way poor children would be encouraged to attend school regularly and second, they would receive adequate nutrition. But unfortunately, as two back-to-back incidents, the first in Bihar and the second in Rajasthan,...