-The Hindu The promise of near-universal coverage is now nowhere in sight. And the UPA's seemingly fretful efforts to get the measure through do not appear to be convincing The nation is watching with trepidation the play of politics over the National Food Security Bill, which envisages food security for 67 per cent of the population by providing 5 kg of rice, wheat or coarse cereals per person per month at subsidised...
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Address the divergence
-The Hindu The rationale behind the Union government's decision to extend for four more years the Integrated Action Plan for naxal-affected districts in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, is clear enough. So is its timing, coming as it does days after the Maoist rampage in Chhattisgarh. Out of an annual allocation of Rs. 1,000 crore, each of the 82 districts identified...
More »‘No detention doesn’t mean no exams’ -Akshaya Mukul
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: No-detention provision in the Right to Education (RTE) Act is being touted as a big barrier towards quality education but a comprehensive report by the HRD ministry has revealed that 25 states already had no-detention policy even before the historical law came into force in 2009. It has also been revealed through analysis of District Information of System of Education data that learning ability in states...
More »Remembering Vina Mazumdar
-The Hindu Vina Mazumdar, doyenne of the Indian women's movement, architect of the epochal Report of the Committee on the Status of Women in India in post independent India, passed away in a central Delhi hospital on May 30 after a brief illness. In the introduction to her memoirs published by Zubaan in 2010, she described herself as a "women's activist", a "feminist,", a "trouble-maker", but the one she liked best was...
More »Panel starts work on definition of backward states-Sidhartha
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The expert panel to decide the new yardstick for backward states, meant to benefit states such as Bihar, kicked off discussion on Tuesday with committee members looking at possible parameters. Sources present in the meeting said some historical and social indicators were discussed but talks were exploratory. "It was a broad discussion. It will take a few more sittings to come to any conclusion," said Asian...
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