-The Indian Express The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) released last week forced India's policymakers, yet again, to confront the unfortunate realities of our primary education system. In its 10-year history, ASER has challenged the fundamental assumption of elementary education policy: that the expansion of the schooling system would ensure that children learn. Indeed, in the last decade, while the Centre was able to expand the system through the provision...

-The Hindu India's growth story of the last two decades has had one recurring theme: that the pattern of economic growth is accentuating insecurities. Yet, there continues to be a deep divide over whether the gains from growth ought to be ploughed back to achieve social security for everyone. Social security has come to be linked to job benefits, tying it to one's status as a worker in the formal or...

-The Times of India GUWAHATI: Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi announced a cash incentive to below poverty lines (BPL) mothers who give birth to girl child on Saturday. This comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "beti bachao, beti padhao" call. At a function on National Girl Child Day here, Gogoi said his government will introduce the new scheme at the budget session of the assembly beginning March 2. "We will provide Rs 5,000 to...

-The New Indian Express At a time when millions of people are being pushed into poverty by health care costs, there is good news from Karnataka. The state, a pioneer in government-led health assurance, launched another innovative programme on Tuesday. The Rajiv Arogya Bhagya scheme for uninsured people above the poverty line covers tertiary treatment, including 449 surgical procedures, in seven specialties: cardiology, neurology, urology, oncology, burns, polytrauma and paediatrics. Each...

-The Hindu Six studies in four continents also reveal that small loans had no impact on women's empowerment Six studies in four continents, including one in India, have shown no evidence of microcredit successfully alleviating poverty, researchers said on Friday. Microcredit also had no impact on women's empowerment, the findings showed, upturning one of the articles of faith of development policy, including in India. Conducted by researchers affiliated to Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)...