-The Telegraph The index includes 5 pillars comprising 41 indicators on the basis of which the states have been ranked for literacy among children. * The Index is aimed at understanding the overall state of foundational learning across children aged below 10 years in India * Chief minister Mamata Banerjee congratulates all teachers, guardians and members of the education department West Bengal has topped the ‘large states’ category in the Index on Foundational Literacy...

After the release of the second phase data of the National Family Health Survey Fifth Round (NFHS-5), media commentators and experts have written that the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) for India has gone down just below the replacement-level fertility. The TFR for the entire nation was 2.2 in 2015-16, which decreased to 2.0 in 2019-21.   According to the United Nations, the replacement-level fertility is reached when the TFR of a...

-The Hindu India must invest robustly in the world’s largest social programme on early childhood services Being closed since the April 2020-lockdown, anganwadis are slowly reopening. Those in Karnataka, Bihar and Tamil Nadu are opening or considering opening shortly. As part of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), anganwadis play a crucial role in supporting households, particularly from low-income families, by providing childcare, health and nutrition, education, supplementary nutrition, immunisation, health check-up...

-GaonConnection.com At least ten districts of Bihar have reported high levels of uranium in their groundwater, the primary source of drinking water in rural areas, which far exceeds the tolerable limit prescribed by the World Health Organization. Millions in Bihar are already facing a high disease burden due to elevated levels of arsenic, fluoride and iron in their water. Presence of uranium has multiplied their worries manifold. The state government is...

-Newsclick.in Bihar DAP Shortage Delays Sowing of Rabi Crops, Farmers Fear Loss in Quality Patna: Rajeshwar Mandal and Surajdeo Yadav are extremely worried as the sowing of maize, wheat, pulses and mustard has been delayed due to the acute shortage of diammonium phosphate (DAP). The marginal farmers of the flood-hit Seemanchal-Koshi region of Bihar fear that the delay in sowing the Rabi crops will affect their quality and production. Mandal and Yadav are...