-The Business Standard The rural non-farm sector has emerged as India's largest job creator since 2000 and needs to play a pivotal role in our structural transformation Job creation has to be a pressing priority for any new government. But it is worthwhile trying to understand the nature of our employment challenge. The unemployment rate, as understood in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) world, is not a very useful indicator...

-The Indian Express New street vendors act is welcome. But questions of hawkers' rights come down to our understanding of city spaces and people. The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, 2014, was finally passed by the Rajya Sabha on February 19 and received presidential assent last week. This is to be lauded. Since the late 19th century, the official view has been to treat street...

-The Times of India blog Between 2011 and 2017, the World Bank will spend $4 billion on rural development in India. Parmesh Shah, the bank's lead rural development specialist for South ASIa, talks to Parakram Rautela about how that money is going to be spent and how they're working towards their ultimate aim - a world free of poverty Q. It's one thing to say that you want to eradicate world poverty...

Until recently it had been an enigma for health practitioners to understand why people do not wash their hands before dinner or after defecation despite knowing the health hazards or benefits associated with it. An experimental study conducted in 14 villages in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh shows that emotional campaigns can work wonders and decisively change behaviours. The study was conducted between May 24, 2011, and September 10, 2012...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Literacy is still a distant dream for vulnerable young women. Going at the present pace of development, India will take at least another 56 years to achieve female youth literacy. A serious gender imbalance in global education has left over 100 million young women in low and lower middle income countries unable to read a single sentence, and will prevent half of the 31 million girls...