-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...
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An uncertain Hobbesian life -Feroze Varun Gandhi
-The Hindu India's small farmers have been struggling for centuries now and they need social and governmental action to change their future Of India's 121 million agricultural holdings, 99 million are with small and marginal farmers, with a land share of just 44 per cent and a farmer population share of 87 per cent. With multiple cropping prevalent, such farmers account for 70 per cent of all vegetables and 52 per cent...
More »Arvind Panagariya at Niti Aayog reveals Modi govt's disdain for public sector -G Pramod Kumar
-FirstPost.com Arvind Panagariya. The man is the message. When the 65 year old planning commission makes way for a putatively leaner NITI Aayog, the expectation is that it will change the era of centralised and top-down planning to a decentralised and participatory process. As expected, apart from the Congress ruled states, the move didn't face any noteworthy resistance. The Tamil Nadu government appeared to even rejoice its demise. However, what even the critics...
More »Kolhapur jaggery turns bitter on shortage of labour, sugarcane -Rahul Wadke
-The Hindu Business Line Mumbai: Navi Mumbai-based 65-year-old homemaker Swati Bhatt has been unhappy with the way she has been cooking puran poli (sweet flat bread) over the last one year. The reason: Kolhapuri jaggery, an essential ingredient in the dish, is in short-supply in the market. Jaggery from other States, or for that matter palm jaggery, does not lend the original taste to the Maharashtrian delicacy. This variety of jaggery is made...
More »Scheming against the poor -TK Rajalakshmi
-Frontline The Left and other national parties protest against the NDA government's attempts to dilute the MGNREGS by limiting its budget and reducing its reach. IN a rare show of solidarity, representatives of several political parties took issue with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government on its controversial proposal to restructure the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The opposition, which was initially confined to the...
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