-The Hindu India’s mothers are among the most malnourished in the world, but a project empowering women and fighting harmful traditions gives hope for a solution. In a small village tucked away near the Rajasthan-Gujarat border, wafts of spice once filled the air as 40-year-old Dubali Damor warmed chapatis and fried spices for her family’s evening meal. Once ready, her husband and children would tuck into plates of steaming fluffy rice and...

-Frontline.in The Assembly elections have put under intense scrutiny Narendra Modi’s Gujarat model of development which is touted as worthy of replication throughout the country. Audit reports of the CAG provide ample evidence of it being inefficient, corrupt and not beneficial to the common people. THE standard indicators of development, as is understood in theory and practice, comprise a range of indices, and not necessarily the level of private investment in...

-Down to Earth Jean Dreze on why he prefers a solidarity society, rather than a welfare state * Are you actually an advocate of the welfare state? Ideally, I would prefer to think in terms of a solidarity society rather than welfare state, for two reasons. First, private non-profit institutions can play a very useful role in the social sector. In many countries, some of the best schools and health centres are run...

-Outlook A controversy has arisen over directions to school teachers in certain Bihar districts to dissuade people from defecating in the open and click pictures of those who refused to pay heed. Orders issued by block Education officers asked teachers to do rounds in various wards and panchayat areas in the mornings and evenings and ask people to use toilets. They were also directed to click photographs to shame those who insisted on...

-Hindustan Times The human resource development ministry describes the self-help groups and cook-cum-helpers as pillars of the programme. New Delhi: The human resource development (HRD) ministry has asked states to get all midday meal cooks-cum-helpers trained by “master trainers” by the end of this year. In a letter sent to heads of state Education departments, the ministry has suggested they can get the cook-cum-helpers in their jurisdiction trained by master chefs of the...