-PTI Stressing that the practice of child marriage was still prevalent in certain communities and groups in the country, the UNICEF official held deep-rooted superstitious beliefs as responsible for its slow elimination India has witnessed a decline in child marriage in the last two decades, but going by the slow pace it will require another 50 years to abolish the practice from the country, according to UNICEF. "Child marriage has been declining at...

-Economic and Political Weekly The relationship between depleting water levels and school dropout rates is poorly studied. As chronic water shortages begin to affect more regions of the country, this trend will begin to appear more forcefully. Kishore Jha (kishor.delhi6@gmail.com) is working on child rights with Terre des Homes, Germany. Devender, a 14-year-old boy from Kheeda village in Almora district in Uttarakhand State, studies in Class 8. He spends at least three hours...

-The Business Standard A delayed monsoon has forced farmers in Western UP to use alternative sources of irrigation, incurring 25-30% extra costs Saharanpur/Muzaffarnagar (UP): If the latest inflation reading at eight per cent, largely fuelled by near double-digit food inflation, has left us worried, get ready to pay even more for food in coming months. Though the monsoon deficit has reduced to only 17 per cent, the rise in input cost...

-The Business Standard A third of the poorest urban population had exclusive supply of drinking water in 2012 against 28.5% in 2008-09 Accessibility to potable water improved for the poor in the country between 2009 and 2012, particularly in rural areas, said a National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) report. Around 27 per cent of those belonging to the bottom section (0-20 quintile) in rural areas had exclusive supply of drinking water in...

-Al Jazeera The UN claims that its Millennium Development Campaign has reduced poverty globally, an assertion that is far from true. The received wisdom comes to us from all directions: Poverty rates are declining and extreme poverty will soon be eradicated. The World Bank, the governments of wealthy countries, and - most importantly - the United Nations Millennium Campaign all agree on this narrative. Relax, they tell us. The world is getting...