India has witnessed many fiery debates on poverty estimates. Equally contentious has been the issue of inequality. Now a new report on exclusion offers a fresh perspective on poverty, inequality and social justice. (See below a summary of the report) Based on data and knowledge resources available in the public domain, India Exclusion Report 2013-14 highlights the systematic discrimination faced by women, Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Muslims, persons with...

-The Times of India   Last month's general election brought the role of media under the spotlight. Media faced severe criticism from political parties, intellectuals and industry insiders for allegedly being partisan during elections. A large section of mainstream media has been castigated as "paid media" by social media enthusiasts. In this context, however, a great deal of work already exists in the political economy literature analyzing the real effects of having a...

-Down to Earth   Dip in number of schools providing midday meals to their students "About 20 per cent schools in India still lack toilet facilities for girls," says a report recently released by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. The report, titled Elementary Education in India, has also highlighted that enrolment of girls has come down to 48.20 per cent this year, as compared to last year's 48.36 per cent. The enrolment of...

-The Pioneer   Raipur: A significant initiative is being taken up at State Government and administrative levels to link the tribal ‘Pahadi Korwa' families,residing in remote pockets of Korba development block, with farming activities. With the work being done by the Government for the development of these tribal families, a new thought is emerging among the tribals who are keen to take up agricultural activities.According to official sources, there were a total of...

-The Hindu   Kanyashree Prakalpa provides scholarship to girls from economically-backward backgrounds Kolkata: Kanyashree Prakalpa, a West Bengal government scheme that provides scholarship to girls from economically-backward backgrounds, has been given international recognition by the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID) and UNICEF. State representatives have been invited to the Girl Summit 2014 in London, in June, and talk about the scheme to a global audience. The conditional cash transfer scheme to school...