-The Economic Times Uttarakhand has been rated top in the Planning Commission's green ranking based on quality of air and water, waste management, forest cover and climate change. The panel lists Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Sikkim and Andhra Pradesh as the other top four states on its Environmental Performance Index, which will serve as a measure of a state's green initiative and be linked to financial assistance from the Centre. The index was prepared...
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Agricultural wages and NREGA: Exploring the myth-Kanika Mahajan
-Live Mint Charges that NREGA has pushed up agricultural wages fails to account for changing productivity In the debate over the costs and benefits of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), one of the most controversial and unsettled issues is its effect on agricultural labour market. Last year, Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar even went to the extent of recommending a 50% subsidy to farmers in wage costs due...
More »Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan backs schools that are not RTE-compliant -Preetu Venugopalan Nair
-The Times of India KOCHI: The private schools in the state which don't meet the infrastructure requirements as prescribed in the Right to Education (RTE) Act have a reason to smile. The sixteenth joint mission of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, in its latest report, has suggested that instead of closing down private schools that are not RTE-compliant, the state governments should ensure that quality standards are met both by private as...
More »Noam Chomsky expresses solidarity with Koodankulam protesters -Manash Pratim Gohain
-The Times of India Internationally acclaimed academician Noam Chomsky of Massachusetts Institute of Technology of the United States has warned that Koodankulam could be another Bhopal disaster in waiting. In a solidarity letter to the struggling people he said: "Nuclear energy is a very dangerous initiative, particularly in countries like India, which has had more than its share of industrial disasters, Bhopal being the most famous." "I would like to express my...
More »India losing fewer infants but still short of target -Anuradha Mascarenhas
-The Indian Express Pune: A modest yet consistent decline in the infant mortality rate, especially in six problematic states, is one of the key features of the latest data from the Sample Registration System. Nationwide, the IMR has dropped by three points from 47 infant deaths per 1,000 live births to 44, according to the October 2012 SRS bulletin. It has dropped to 48 from 51 in rural areas , and...
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