-Economic and Political Weekly   Through a two-way process comprising text analysis of the policy framework of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme and analysis of empirical data collected through interaction with policy implementers, teachers, students, experts, etc, this article puts forth the argument that urban education system has failed partly because of the inability of the implementers to plan, manage and facilitate the programme. Monika Banerjee (banerjie77@gmail.com) is with the Zakir Husain Centre...

-The Indian Express It is heartening that several ministries and companies have responded with alacrity to the prime minister's call for the construction of toilets. It is indicative not only of the PM's authority but also of the fact that the concern is widely shared. The ministry of rural development has proposed to increase the allocation for constructing individual, school, anganwadi and community toilets in rural areas. But it has proposed to...

-The Hindustan Times India's record, when it comes to sanitation, has been most unsanitary. Of the estimated billion people who defecate in the open across the world, more than half are here. Poor sanitation impairs the health of Indians, leading to high rates of malnutrition and productivity losses. According to the World Bank, India's sanitation deficit leads to losses worth 6% of GDP. In such a scenario, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's...

-The Business Standard Ending open defecation by 2019 will require changing minds, not just allocating money to build latrines for people that will either go unused or not be built at all During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day speech, we learned that his Swachch Bharat Mission to eliminate open defecation in India by Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary, would begin in less than two months on October 2. What was...

-Outlook Giving a big push to Prime Narendra Modi's ambitious Clean India mission, the government today proposed a major hike in funds provided for constructing household toilets in rural areas and providing better sanitation facilities in schools and anganwadis. In yet another move, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, who is also in-charge of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, announced the decision to delink MNREGA from Toilet construction programme, saying that the...