Thousands of people have gathered in the Indian capital, Delhi, to take part in a rally to protest against rising food prices and unemployment. A steady stream of protesters, carrying red flags, has been marching through the streets of central Delhi since early morning. The rally has led to massive traffic jams in the city. Trade unions who have called the rally say nearly 40,000 people will attend a meeting at the Ramlila...

The Nagla elementary school in this north Indian town looks like many other rundown government schools. Sweater-clad children sit on burlap sheets laid in rows on cold concrete floors. Lunch is prepared out back on a fire of burning twigs and branches. But the classrooms of Nagla are a laboratory for an educational approach unusual for an Indian public school. Rather than being drilled and tested on reproducing passages from...

Although finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had promised food security and inclusive growth in his budget speech last year, hunger continues to stalk over 300 million citizens of the country. India slipped to 67th place in the Global Hunger Index 2010 rankings of 122 countries prepared by International Food Policy Research Institute. An Oxford University report said that 410 million Indians live in poverty. While there may be nit-picking over the...

The headmistress and a teacher of a primary school in Burdwan have been arrested for allegedly selling off 250kg of rice meant for the midday meal scheme. The matter came to light on Tuesday when two farmers in Gonna village, where the school is situated, saw headmistress Banasri Thakur Mukherjee and teacher Joydeb Gorai “slip into” a grocery shop minutes after a cycle van carrying six sacks stopped in front of...

The public instructions department has finally found a solution to address the increasing number of anaemic children in primary schools. Following directions of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), officials of the mid-day meal programme are considering increasing the dosage of iron tablets provided for children at schools. A NRHM official said: “We had directed the mid-day meal officials to take appropriate measures to overcome anaemic problems amongst students. We also...