-Frontline In a situation of increasing life expectancy and crumbling traditional support structures, a universal social pension scheme that does not rely on contribution by a person or an employer can help the elderly. INDIA prides itself on being a "young" society, likely to benefit from a demographic dividend as children and young people move into working age groups over the next decade. This optimistic view assumes that society will be able...

-The Hindu India has the largest programme, catering to over 114 million children A global report by the World Food Project (WFP) for 2013 on 169 countries has said that India has the largest school feeding programme in the world, catering to over 114 million children, but stands 12thamong 35 lower-middle-income countries covering 79 per cent of its total number of school-going children. The report titled "State of School Feeding Worldwide, 2013" draws...

-The Hindu The Chinese government is also likely to considering locations in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu for industrial parks Beijing: Haryana has made available thousands of acres of land for purchase by Chinese companies, State government officials told potential investors here on Wednesday, in an effort to court investment into newly planned industrial bases. Haryana officials told The Hindu that the China Development Bank (CDB) - the powerful State-run bank that is...

-The Times of India   BALI: After four days of intense negotiations, World Trade Organization members are set to accept the government's demand on food security that will protect India and other developing countries from penalties for breaching the domestic support cap of 10% of value of production. In return, the government agreed to a new agreement on trade facilitation, the first since WTO was set up nearly two decades ago, that...

-IPS News Bhubaneswar: More than a month after Cyclone Phailin battered Orissa, tribes in the eastern Indian coastal state are still feeling its wrath. Besides the damage to their homes and hearths, it has also meant a loss of their traditional food. "Calamities like Cyclone Phailin affect all equally, but the tribes are far more vulnerable to the impact of calamities because of lesser resilience," Special Relief Commissioner P.K. Mahapatra tells IPS. This...