-The Indian Express For the first time since 2010, slightly more than half (50.5%) of all children in Class 5 can read a Class 2 text book, up from 46.9% in 2012. Close to a decade since the Right to Education Act came into force and after years of flagging dismal learning levels, the latest Annual Status of Education Report (ASER 2018) holds a glimmer of hope. While most children in...
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Right to Food Campaign criticizes Jharkhand Government's move to reduce the number of eggs in School Midday Meals
-Press release by Right to Food Campaign dated 16th January, 2019 It is shocking to learn that Jharkhand Government has decided to reduce the number of weekly eggs in school midday meals from three to two. Earlier, the government allotted Rs 4 per egg. With increase in price of eggs, it has revised the allotment to Rs 6 per egg. But instead of increasing the total budget commensurately with the inflation...
More »Universal Basic Income can be funded by reducing subsidies to the rich -Pranab Bardhan
-The Indian Express I think packaging a significant UBIS with a simultaneous increase in the taxes on the rich will help macro-economic stability, apart from assuaging the poor who will face some of the price rise in commodities or services, when subsidies are withdrawn. After my last op-ed in this paper (The safety net of the future) several readers, intrigued by the idea of a Universal Basic Income Supplement (UBIS) proposed...
More »Child road safety report sets off alarm bells, minister Gadkari says it's a 'failure' for him -Anisha Dutta
-Hindustan Times Gadkari, who launched the ‘Rear Seat-Belt Usage and Child Road Safety in India’ report, pointed that almost 90% Indians also face safety risks by not using rear seat belts. New Delhi: Nine out of 10 Indians do not secure children with seat belts while travelling in four-wheelers or ensure they wear helmets on two-wheelers, according to a study, which Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari cited on...
More »After 10% quota, Govt plans basic income for poor, aid for farmers -Amitav Ranjan
-The Indian Express The 2017 Economic Survey had flagged the UBI scheme as “a conceptually appealing idea” and a possible alternative to social welfare programmes targeted at reducing poverty. With its legislation on a 10 per cent quota for the general category poor in jobs and education getting parliamentary backing in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP-led government is now exploring the possibility of providing direct benefit transfers...
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