-Down to Earth Lack of credible data and co-ordinated action slow country's efforts to contain malnutrition Even though India's programmes for nutrition in children were carried out to meet the UN Millennium Development Goals, the Global Health Report-2014 shows that their health has not improved substantially. While 46 per cent of under-5 children were stunted in 1997,the figure rose to 48 per cent in 2006. Reduction in stunting from 1990 to 2011 was...

-The Hindu The inequities in infrastructure could not be starker. While several schools continue to deny the most basic sanitation facilities for poorer children, a select band of them dangle air-conditioned classrooms and dormitories and other accessories before the more affluent ones. Repeated knuckle-rapping by the Supreme Court over the years has evidently had little effect on State administrations, as the case of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana illustrates. In October...

-Outlook A parsing of the recent expert report on food security reveals that most of its solutions do not meet the greater public good. The BJP's election manifesto had stated "that ‘universal food security' is integral to national security. BJP will take steps to ensure that the benefits of the scheme reach the common man and that the right to food does not remain an act on paper or a political...

-The Hindu Occupational and geographic mobility across the region are bridging income and consumption-related disparities, says the World Bank report, ‘Addressing Inequality in South Asia'. The findings accordingly underscore the role of urbanisation and private sector participation as being critical to mitigating socio-economic disadvantages. Inequality should be understood in terms of monetary and non-monetary dimensions of well-being, contends the report. The share of the poorest 40 per cent of households...

-Business Standard The World Bank on Wednesday expressed concern over the disturbing malnutrion of children and gender inequality in Himachal Pradesh The World Bank on Wednesday expressed concern over the disturbing malnutrion of children and gender inequality in Himachal Pradesh. Despite an impressive economic growth and reduction in poverty during the past years, the hill state needs to tackle malnutrion, falling sex ratio of girls and the challenge of looking after growing...