-The Financial Express Despite the substantial increase in agricultural credit in the past few years, a few states such as Tamil Nadu, Punjab and (pre-division) Andhra Pradesh continue to corner a large part of it, while most poor farmers in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar are still deprived of credit for purchase of basic farming inputs. This scenario has undermined the efficacy of the stepped-up farm credit in boosting agricultural productivity. And...

-Hindustan Times Ranchi: While only 1.9% government schools in rural Jharkhand do not have toilets, students of 35.3% government schools in these areas are debarred from using toilets, which are despite having the facility in their campus, the latest Annual Survey of Education Report (ASER) has said, highlighting the lackadaisical approach of the government in maintaining the infrastructure they invest in. In 2016, the state government claimed that almost all 40,000 odd...

-Hindustan Times Delhi: The Delhi government launched the first of its 54 model schools, which has audio-visual teaching aids, projectors in classrooms and a swanky building on Wednesday. Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia had in 2015 announced that it will turn 54 of its schools as a pilot project to bring government schools at par with private schools. While all the shortlisted schools are undergoing renovation, Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya in Rouse Avenue was the...

-The Hindu The unorganised manufacturing sector should be reoriented towards non-household units to provide efficiency gains. Ever since E.F. Schumacher, a British economist, published in 1973 his book Small is Beautiful, implying that small units are better in terms of performance indicators and labour absorption, several studies have endorsed the same idea and argued in favour of promoting small units. Stretching the argument a little further, it may be emphasised that small...

-PTI According to the study, women who use open defecation sites are twice as likely to get raped compared to women using a home toilet. Washington: Women in India who use open defecation are prone to sexual violence and infrastructure improvements can provide them with some level of protection, a US university researcher has said. “Open defecation places women at uniquely higher risk of one type of sexual violence: non-partner,” says Approva...