Population growth seems to have dropped off the public agenda these days. One reason for this is a twist in the old Malthusian argument that sees the rising proportion of persons of working age as a positive for growth. This shift in the age-distribution, it is argued, will stimulate savings as pressure on household and public budgets for the needs of dependent children comes down. Young workers are assumed to...
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A case of too little, too late or is there some cause for celebration? : The RTE Act 2009 by Dipa Sinha
India’s record in providing education to its children has been very poor. Low education levels have an impact on income, productivity, health status and standard of living. As per 2001 Census, the overall literacy rate of India is still only 65.4%, with many states having a literacy rate less than the national average. While the male literacy rate is around 76%, only about 54% females are literate1. What is important...
More »MGNREGA status report | New model for success in Andhra by CR Sukumar
Anchekatti Rangaswamy, 19, is shifting large rocks from the acres of barren farm land on the outskirts of Yerraguntla, a village 65 km from Kurnool, the gateway to Andhra Pradesh’s drought-prone Rayalaseema region. The work he does during his summer break from college will make the rocky land, belonging to marginal farmers in the area, slightly more cultivable. And the wages the teenager will earn from the job under the Mahatma...
More »Men of letters, unmoved readers by P Sainath
Suicide notes in Vidarbha are at times addressed to the Prime Minister, the desperate last cries of voices that went unheeded when alive. Seeking authenticity for his letter to the Prime Minister and the President, Ramachandra Raut composed it with care on Rs.100 non-judicial stamp paper. Then he added a few more addressees, including his village sarpanch and the police, in the hope that it got home someplace. Then he...
More »‘Rajasthan move a violation of Supreme Court order'
State Government reduces wheat quota to 25 kg from 35 kg Human rights groups have challenged the Rajasthan Government's latest initiative to provide wheat at the rate of Rs.2 per kg to the 27 lakh-strong BPL families in the State pointing out that there is a catch in the move—that instead of the entitlement of 35 kg of wheat per BPL family every month, the quota has been brought down to...
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