-The Hindu ‘It can’t be a business as usual approach’ As almost 26 crore children return to physical classes after 18 months of school closures, a business as usual approach will lead to a deepening of existing educational inequity, warned the National Coalition on the Education Emergency in a report released online on Tuesday. The NCEE cited data from the recent SCHOOL survey conducted in 15 States, which showed that 72% of elementary...

-The Hindu Business Line It is an important tool for agrarian families to manage and mitigate their risks Agriculture plays a pivotal role in the Indian economy, especially in rural areas. According to the recently-released Situational Assessment and Land Holdings of Agricultural Households in Rural India Report (SAS, 2019) by the National Statistics Office, 54 per cent of rural households are agricultural, earning 37 per cent of their household income from farming.  This sector, however, is also subject to a...

-The Hindu The study was done by the Centre for Socio-Economic and Environmental Studies in Kochi Kerala needs to focus on the challenges posed by an increasingly ageing population in the midst of a demographic transition that has seen fertility levels falling below the replacement level and life expectancy remaining at 75 years. The State must draw up long-term strategies to face a situation in which there is a decline in the...

-The Hindu Caste data will help us understand the contours of inequality and craft reasoned and inclusive policies The debate about whether the decennial Census should collect data on caste from individuals who fall into the administrative categories of ‘General’ and ‘Other Backward Classes’ (OBCs) has been argued by public intellectuals, politicians, and government administrators for decades. As the Census currently only collects data on ‘Scheduled Castes’ (SCs) and ‘Scheduled Tribes’ (STs),...

-The Hindu In any new National Water Policy, the aim should also be to encourage conserving water resources and efficient usage The complexity and scale of the water crisis in India calls for a locus specific response, that can galvanise and integrate the ongoing work of different Ministries and Departments through new configurations. Such an integrated approach must necessarily cut across sectoral boundaries and not stop at the merger achieved between the...