To be implemented in 52 districts Cash incentives to be based on certain conditions The scheme will be implemented through ICDS NEW DELHI: To improve maternal and child health, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) — a monetary scheme for pregnant women and lactating mothers — on a pilot basis in 52 districts in this Five-Year Plan. Each pregnant and lactating woman will receive...

The Millennium Development declaration was a visionary document, which sought partnership between rich and poor nations to make globalisation a force for good. Its signatories agreed to explicit goals on a specific timeline. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set ambitious targets for reducing hunger, poverty, infant and maternal mortality, for reversing the spread of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria and giving children basic education by 2015. These also included gender equality,...

Centre will implement it on a pilot basis in 52 districts To improve maternal and child health, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) — a monetary scheme for pregnant women and lactating mothers — on a pilot basis in 52 districts in this Five-Year Plan. Each pregnant and lactating woman will receive Rs. 4,000 in three instalments between the second trimester of...

A timely reality check on public policies in the developing world, the Global Hunger Index 2010, (GHI) released by the International Food Policy Research Institute, reveals the disturbing fact that the number of hungry people in the world hovers around the one-billion mark. Although this year's estimates by the Food and Agriculture Organisation place the figure at 925 million, barely a year ago, at the height of the recession, “the...

India is the world's 10th largest economy with a GDP of $3.57 trillion and $3,100 as per capita income. Sub-Saharan Ethiopia  has the 79th largest economy, with $900 as per capita income. It's far behind India. Yet, Ethiopia and a handful of other sub-Saharan nations beat India in one of the most critical social indices – 35% children in sub-Sahara are malnourished and the figure jumps to 47% for India. Does...