-The Indian Express To reduce poverty, India needs to concentrate on promoting healthcare and education of the poor It is sometimes argued that a country such as India, aiming to eliminate absolute poverty, should only be concerned about economic growth, and not worry about inequality. Is that right? Yes, growth is (typically) good for the poor but it is no less true that inequality is (typically) bad for the poor. There is little...
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A misnomer called food security -Charan Singh and Arvind Virmani
-The Indian Express The proposed bill makes false promises. The need is to directly address problems of drinking water availability, sanitation, maternal health and childcare The Food Security Bill (2013, FSB) promulgated recently by an ordinance is expected to be debated in Parliament soon. The intention behind the FSB is noble, to eradicate hunger from the country, but the means adopted need serious reconsideration. FSB, under the targeted public distribution system (TPDS),...
More »Private care? -TK Rajalakshmi
-Frontline The National Advisory Council recommendations seem to be making a strong case for a major role for the private sector in the delivery of health care. THE recommendations for universal health coverage drawn up by the National Advisory Council (NAC), headed by United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi, push for public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the health delivery system but not for any inbuilt mechanisms for accountability. The NAC also...
More »Air pollution costing economy Rs 3.75L crore a year: World Bank -Dipak Kumar Dash
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Only outdoor air pollution in urban areas claims 1.09 lakh lives of adults, another 7,513 of children below 5 years annually, says a latest report of World Bank. The study released on Wednesday revealed that the annual cost of environmental degradation in India is about Rs 3.75 lakh crores, which is equivalent to 5.7% of country's GDP. The study commissioned by the Central government has brought...
More »Food Security Bill a game-changer?-NC Saxena
-The Business Standard Food insecurity and hunger are rooted in bad policies, faulty design, poor governance and a lack of political will According to the latest Global Hunger Report, India continues to be in the category of those nations where hunger is "alarming". What is worse, despite high growth, the hunger index in India between 1996 and 2011 has gone up from 22.9 to 23.7. National Sample Survey Organisation data show that...
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