-The Hindu With public schools not performing and private schools teaching students to compete rather than learn, India's primary sites of education are at risk The Rajasthan government recently decided to close down more than 17,000 schools, the Maharashtra government decided to close down about 14,000 schools and the Odisha government is closing down 195 schools because of low attendance by students. These are not stray incidents, but indicate the decline of...

-The Business Standard Scheme faces pincer attack with a proposed higher proportion of expenditure on material, reducing the budget available to pay wages The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) faces a pincer attack under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, with parallel moves promising to shrink and mutate the nature of the scheme. Two of the moves have been revealed - a proposed higher proportion of expenditure on material,...

-The Hindu Obamacare and other such examples make a compelling case for seeking the right combination of roles for the public and private sector in health reform in India Nail or screw? Which is best to join pieces of wood? In carpentry, the answer is that each offers benefits depending on the application. With health care reform, the choice of public or private sector financing, delivery and regulation is subject to a...

-Down to Earth There are other factors for food price inflation, says the study commissioned in the wake of persistent double digit food price inflation between 2012-13 The rural job scheme, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), which guarantees 100 days of unskilled job to rural households in a year, has been blamed by a number of economists for food price inflation. But a new study by the Reserve Bank...

-The Hindu Protest continues on Diwali against non-payment of wages Patna: Development economist Jean Drèze, along with hundreds of protesting MGNREGA workers, observed "Black Diwali" at a village in Muzaffarpur district on Thursday. For over a fortnight, the workers have been organising a dharna demanding payment of dues. Professor Drèze reached Mahant Manihari Panchayat Bhawan under the Kurhani block and sat on the day-long dharna. "Nearly 3,000 workers from six blocks have not been...