-The Indian Express Without better quality schooling, attempts to curb child labour can only go so far. The Union cabinet has cleared amendments to the child labour act, introducing stricter penalties on employers, outlawing all work done by children below 14 and banning children from doing any hazardous work — up from an existing list of 18 hazardous industries and processes. However, it makes an exception: children are allowed to help in...

Due to the annual decline in under-5 mortality rate by almost 7% during 2008-13, the Government is hopeful of India attaining the target 5 of Millennium Development Goal-4 i.e. reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the U5MR. This has been revealed in a press release on checking child mortality rate by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, dated 28 April, 2015.   However, experts think that this will be...

-The Hindu Business Line It's a huge exercise in collective cleanliness which needs massive funding and human resources. Cosmetics won't work At first glance, the government has not put its money where its mouth is. Just ₹2,625 crore have been provided for the Swachh Bharat Mission in the Budget. This is against ₹4,620 crore in 2014-15 and ₹3,500 crore the year before. The drop is puzzling till one looks at the Budget...

-United Nations Just one third of countries have achieved all the measurable education goals set in 2000 and only half of all countries have achieved universal primary enrolment, the United Nations agency mandated with promoting learning spotlighted today, urging countries to bridge the $22 billion annual finance gap needed to achieve quality basic education for all by 2030. "The world has made tremendous progress towards 'Education for All'...however the agenda is far...

-The Indian Express There is a strange gap in India - a gap for young people between the ages of 14 and 18. The Right to Education (RTE) Act guarantees free and compulsory education up to the age of 14. The Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 for the care and protection of children (Section 26) prohibits the employment of children below the age of 18. Rough calculations suggest that today, the 14-18 population...