-The Indian Express Growth can alleviate poverty but its definition needs to expand to make any tangible difference on the ground. Amidst the din caused by the story of rising billionaires, the message on India’s poverty decline in the recent report of the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative has been lost. UNDP and Oxford University released the report on Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) 2018. This report covers 105 countries. The...

-The Hindu Government intervention is required to improve educational and economic indicators The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) labour force survey reports that the economic condition of Muslims does not show any signs of improvement despite India being the fastest-growing large economy. An analysis of the data on economic and educational indicators for various religious groups reveals that Muslims are facing a vicious circle of poverty. Lowest education levels The NSSO’s 68th round (2011-12)...

-The Indian Express Deliberations at UN show resolve to address public health challenges at highest level. On September 26, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) deliberated on how best to address a serious public health challenge — tuberculosis (TB). A day later, the world’s most esteemed political forum deliberated on combating non-communicable diseases (NCDs). For several years, WHO South East Asia and its member states have been ground zero in the battle against...

-The Indian Express RTE Act has not ensured delivery of quality education We have a belief that enacting a legislation is a panacea for all ills. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (popularly known as RTE Act) was born out of this mindset. This approach raises a few questions. Why should the executive arm of the government require a law to do something which it is authorised...

-The HinduThe number of tax returns filed has gone up but collections have not shown a commensurate increaseThe Central Board of Direct Taxes has released the latest data on income tax collections. Several interesting facts emerge from the data. The number of taxpayers has increased drastically over the last four years. The number of tax returns filed has surged to 6.85 crore in FY 2017-18, an 80% growth since FY...