-Hindustan Times Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh’s first “cashless” village is actually “waterless”, prompting villagers to adopt a novel initiative of sourcing water through rooftop water pipes from tubewells located in their agricultural fields 1,000 to 2,000 feet away. Thick black water pipes running over the rooftops and treetops in the village, coming from the agriculture fields might be mistaken as electric wires at first sight. “We don’t care about cashless status as our...

  Amidst concerns over budgetary cuts in social sector spending, a recent statement from Shri Rao Inderjit Singh, Minister of State for Planning reveals that unemployment rate has risen much sharper among the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) vis-à-vis the overall population. Replying to a starred question by Shri PL Punia regarding Human Development Index (HDI) of SCs and STs, the Minister of State for Planning said on 6 February,...

-Delhi Solidarity Group Following the ritual, Government of India presented its budget with much fanfare, claiming it to be pro-poor, but the larger question that looms is whether it will really change the lives of the marginalized sections of the society. For a country like India which is ‘democratic, socialist, sovereign, republic’ working towards the ‘welfare’ of its citizens, one, either out of innocence or honest belief, tend to assume that...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Economic Survey has recommended that biometric tracking of teachers' attendance be introduced in government primary schools and the data monitored by parents and local communities. The Survey has cited the low-learning outcome of children in government schools and linked it to teacher absenteeism and shortage of professionally qualified teachers. According to the UNESCO- EFA (Education For All) Monitoring Report for 2014, teacher absenteeism in India varies between 15...

-The Indian Express The tagline for the scheme, named Annapurna Rasoi Yojana, is: “Sabke liye bhojan, sabke liye sammaan (Food for all, respect for all)”. Jaipur: Taking a leaf out of former Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa’s book, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Thursday launched a subsidised meal scheme in the state. The tagline for the scheme, named Annapurna Rasoi Yojana, is: “Sabke liye bhojan, sabke liye sammaan (Food for all, respect for...