-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government should reduce coverage under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) to 40% of the population from 67% and defer implementation of the scheme in states which have not complied with the rollout conditions, a panel appointed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recommended. The panel headed by former food minister Shanta Kumar submitted the report to the PM on Wednesday. Reforming the subsidy regime...

-The Hindustan Times Around this time every year, news about the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) survey creates a short-lived stir in the media over the dismal performance of children studying in State-run elementary schools. Pratham - the NGO which produces the ASER reports - carries out this nationwide evaluation of children's competence in reading and arithmetic, and presents the results of children's grade-wise scores. The sample consists of nearly...

-Down to Earth The situation of India's farmers has only become grimmer in the past decade, according to the latest National Sample Survey Office report The lot of the embattled Indian farmer only keeps on getting worse with the passage of time. In the last 10 years, the voluminous debt of Indian agricultural households has increased almost four-fold whereas their undersized monthly income from cultivation has increased three-fold. Even the number of...

-The Hindu Given industry concerns and the desire to accelerate industrialisation, the government could have reopened the debate on the land act. Instead, it has wholly accepted one perception of the conflict, and sought to undo the compromise embodied in the 2013 Act without a review This article will not go into the question of the propriety of the ordinance route to legislation in this case, but will try to present a...

-Down to Earth In a Union budget wish list, civil society organisations call for course correction in policy and improving access to healthcare in India The government's focus on improving health indicators stated in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has worked against the aims of universal health coverage, said experts at the National Convention on Union Budget 2015-16 held in Delhi on January 8 and 9. They recommended that the focus must...