-The Times of India NEW DELHI: India has eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus. It has been reduced to less than one case per 1000 live births across the country, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has validated adding India to the list of countries that have successfully battled the disease. "This is a huge achievement for India which until a few decades ago reported 150,000 to 200,000 neonatal tetanus cases annually," WHO regional...
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The future of Digital India mission appears dim
The Digital India Mission, launched by the NDA government, aims to connect 2.5 lakh village panchayats with high speed broadband internet by December, 2016 so that citizens can access online services. However, available facts reveal that this is a difficult task to be accomplished. In rural areas, among the youth aged 14-29 about 82 percent do not know how to operate a computer. In urban areas, nearly 51 percent of youth...
More »Thought For Food -Jean Dreze & Reetika Khera
-Outlook Even the worst-governed states can improve their PDS and ensure grain for the poorest. Look at Madhya Pradesh. THE National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, is not in very good health. Two years after it came into force, just a few states are implementing it. Others are still struggling with the identification of eligible households, public distribution system (PDS) reforms and other preparations. Yet, recent evidence suggests that some states...
More »Social schemes suffer body blow over tardy progress by Shivraj Chouhan sub-panel -Arup Roychoudhury
-Business Standard 14th Finance Commission wants 30 centrally-sponsored schemes to be delinked from support of the govt as states get more through untied funds The pending decision on sharing of resources between the Centre and the states on centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) by the sub-group of chief ministers has led to a number of Union government ministries facing a cash crunch. Even, the finance ministry refused to release funds to them for...
More »Socio Economic Caste Census: Has It Ignored Too Many Poor Households? -NC Saxena
-Economic and Political Weekly A survey to identify who the poor are and how many are actually poor is necessary if programmes and benefits targeted at the needy are to reach them. The Socio Economic Caste Census, of which partial results have been published, was intended to do this. Yet, even a cursory look at the figures indicates that they call for a willing suspension of disbelief. N C Saxena (naresh.saxena@gmail.com) was...
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