-The Hindu Women are essential for the success of schemes like the mid-day meal programme. Improving their wages and working conditions would be better than blaming them when things go wrong. Mahatma Gandhi once declared, "A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members." By this yardstick, India does not fare well. Consider recent headlines alone: 23 Bihari children die after eating poisoned midday meals at their schools. Six-year-old...
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What Amartya Sen doesn't see -Arvind Panagariya
-The Times of India The ongoing 'Bhagwati versus Sen' debate has generated more heat than light, necessitating correction. As an equal co-author of India's Tryst with Destiny, which defines the Bhagwati position, my stake in the debate is second to none. Two extreme characterisations of the positions of the two sides have emerged. The first has it that the differences between them are minimal with each side expressing the same ideas in...
More »Bhagwati vs Sen: Poverty data gives the verdict-Mayank Mishra
-The Business Standard Growth, not entitlement, reduces poverty, according to the latest data The numbers may seem unrealistic, but the broad indication is loud and clear: among all available medicines, growth seems to be the most effective medicine against poverty at the moment. According to the recently released poverty data, states like Odisha, Bihar and Rajasthan have done well when it comes to reducing poverty in the last seven years. And these...
More »Food, by all means -Deepak Pental
-The Indian Express Why are we reticent about using techno-industrial solutions to reduce malnutrition? The death of several children from consuming a toxic midday meal in Bihar evoked a great sense of outrage. But this outrage will, in all probability, soon die down. Yet, this tragedy, as many reports show, is the tip of the iceberg. Beneath it lies unseen a story of poor service delivery and a lack of commitment. India...
More »West Bengal govt sets up anti-rape squad, finally -Ajanta Chakraborty
-The Times of India KOLKATA: After months of being in denial mode over the rise in sexual crimes in Bengal, the Mamata Banerjee government has been forced to take action. Kolkata Police is setting up an exclusive unit by Independence Day to protect women, especially tourists. Women will make up half of this new squad. TOI has relentlessly campaigned to make the city safe for women and the activism has yielded results. The...
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