Rising prices of dal: How to deal with it? The 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly declared 2016 as the International Year of Pulses. In India, however, ordinary citizens are under enormous duress due to the skyrocketing prices of dal/ lentils since the last one year. The website of Price Monitoring Cell of the Department of Consumer Affairs shows that dal prices varied across places. For example, the...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Census data reveals educational backwardness among the impaired
The education level among the disabled stands far below that of the general population. Latest data from the Census 2011 confirms this. It shows that only 54.5 percent of the disabled aged seven years or above could read and write with understanding. (Please see table 1). As per the Census 2011, the population of disabled in the country is 2.68 crore, out of which about 1.22 crore are illiterate and 1.46...
More »Eligible beneficiaries dropped from pension list in Rajasthan
It was a Rashomon moment for the readers of the First Common Review Mission report when they heard activists complaining about the pension system of Rajasthan during a recent press conference held in the capital. The First Common Review Mission (CRM) report, which was prepared during the month of May this year by a team of 32 experts had observed that pension related payments under the National Social Assistance Programmes (NSAP)...
More »Additional days of work available under MGNREGS not taken up in drought hit states
Two back-to-back reports that shed light on the status of MGNREGA implementation in the country, have been released recently from the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD). A review of MGNREGA implementation in 8 different states of India by a team of experts during the month of May this year reveals that in many of the drought affected districts, the Gram Panchayats have no work to offer under the programme. (Please click...
More »INDIA FOCUS: Drought and drinking water shortage. More than one-third of India is affected. Click here for info and links.
Situation alarming: More than one-third population hit by drought The country is facing severe drought for the second consecutive year. Conservative estimates from official sources show that over a quarter of rural habitations are facing drinking water scarcity. Although both India Meteorological Department and Skymet have predicted a more than normal rainfall during June-September, 2016, the water storage available in 91 major reservoirs of the country has declined from 22 percent...
More »