-Tehelka Despite the serious toll it takes on women's health, female sterilisation remains the most prevalent form of contraception in India. While memories of the 21 months of Emergency in 1975-77, imposed by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi, survives even today in the minds of Indian men as the fear of forced sterilisation, the country's population control policies have shifted over the years since then to target the politically less...

-The Hindu Kochi (Kerala): Exposing the poor sanitary conditions in schools, only 134 CBSE schools from the State figure in the list of 2,721 educational institutions that are listed under the national school sanitation rating. Schools are rated as per its sanitation status in five colour categories pertaining to Infrastructure, institutional sustainability, environmental sustainability, health and hygiene and pedagogic aspects. The rating is part of the board's ‘National School Sanitation Initiative' (NSSI)...

-The Hindu We could hold people accountable to a reasonable standard of expectation and that's the first step, says economist Esther Duflo In 2003, French-American economist Esther Duflo co-founded the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (JPAL) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with Abhijit Banerjee and Sendhil Mullainathan. In just over ten years, JPAL has carried out 568 field experiments - or Randomised Control Trials (RCTs) - in 56 countries,...

-The Hindustan Times The World Bank has submitted a detailed action plan that could help the government meet its objective of supplying power 24x7 in the country, with focus on bringing down distribution losses, improving Infrastructure and expanding solar power. The proposal includes a state-wise turnaround plan for the key seven or eight states that together account for about 80% of the $20 billion (Rs 1.2 lakh crore) annual power distribution losses. Officials...

-Down to Earth Infrastructure for primary healthcare has decreased in the past decade As India moves towards the goal of universal health coverage (UHC), its inadequate health Infrastructure is going to pose major problems. In the past few years, the percentage of shortfall in basic Infrastructure has increased, instead of declining, says a report released Thursday. Despite massive spending under the National Rural Health Mission, the shortfall in sub-centres increased by...