-The Hindu NITI Aayog’s draft working paper to strengthen the ICDS programme in urban areas For every 100 anganwadi beneficiaries in the country, only seven are in urban areas, according to the government’s response to a Right to Information (RTI) query from The Hindu. This is primarily because of a severe lack of anganwadis in cities, leading to poor coverage of the government’s flagship programme in early childhood development.   Six services Anganwadis or day-care...

-The Hindu NITI Aayog will develop draft policy, which will be circulated to the Ministries for consultations Urban areas are likely to receive a renewed focus under the government’s ICDS programme, which provides for anganwadis or day-care centres across the country for delivery of nutrition and pre-school education. The government’s think tank, the NITI Aayog, has prepared a draft working paper, which once approved would be circulated to different ministries for consultations. These...

-The Indian Express A reworking of curriculum and activities is urgently needed for the age band from four to eight. ASER 2019 report underlines this While the importance of good early childhood education has been known for a long time, the draft New Education Policy (released in June 2019) links the “severe learning crisis” to what goes on with young children in India. The voluminous policy document points out that close...

-The Hindu Owing to low health insurance coverage in India, especially for the poor, households have to dip into their savings or borrow to meet hospital bills A majority of Indians did not have health insurance as of 2017-18. Coverage levels varied widely based on ‘wealth classes’. The poorest were the least covered as they mostly depended on government schemes, while the richest fared better and relied more on private insurance Abysmal coverage Among...

-Down to Earth Treatment of cardiovascular diseases cost a bomb in rural India Among all ailments, it is infections that are making Indians the most sick. And, this is true for both, rural and urban areas, according to latest study of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). These infections include malaria, viral hepatitis / jaundice, acute diarrhoeal diseases / dysentery, dengue fever, chikungunya, measles, acute encephalitis syndrome, typhoid, hookworm infection filariasis, tuberculosis and...