-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...

-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...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Marginal farmers in Maharashtra are battling another cruel drought. In Vidarbha, droughts have become an annual feature. Absence of irrigation and efficient watershed management make small farmers even more vulnerable. Although schemes such as the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana or the Indira Awaas Yojana are not viewed as adaptation policies, many agree they play an important role in making...

-The Business Standard Ranchi: Jharkhand could qualify for more funds than the Rs 1,500-crore earmarked as labour budget under MGNREGS, if the state pulled up its socks and honoured deadlines while executing the Centre's flagship scheme this fiscal. The word came from Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh who reviewed the job programme and action plans for Saranda and Sarju areas among other things at the Project Building in Ranchi today. "Of the...

-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...