-The Telegraph The finance ministry has decided to shave Rs 3,000 crore, or about nine per cent, off the rural job guarantee scheme's budget allocation, government sources told The Telegraph. The move comes at a time the NDA government has been trying to assuage the fears of the Opposition and social activists that it plans to dilute the programme, introduced by the UPA government. This year's budget allocation for the programme was Rs...
More »SEARCH RESULT
The demographic challenge
-The Hindu The rhetoric on the capacity of countries to reap the so-called demographic dividend cannot mask the more complex reality of a not-so-young world in 2014, and non-uniform patterns of growth. About a quarter of the world's population - 1.8 billion - is in the age-group of 10-24 years, according to the latest United Nations Population Fund report. In 1950, the proportion was higher, at almost a third of the...
More »Access denied -Kundan Pandey
-Down to Earth Shortage of antiretroviral drugs and lack of diagnosis is not new in India, but government does not admit to the crisis The fight against HIV/AIDS in India is becoming tougher by the day as patients continue to face an acute shortage of antiretroviral drugs. This is an alarming situation for a country with the third-highest number of HIV+ people in the world-2.1 million. In 2012, about 140,000 people in...
More »New law of the land: Compost or perish -Tomojit Basu
-The Hindu Business Line Two young women's organic business helps small farmers salvage their soil and livelihood Kolkata schoolmates Avantika Jalan and Rashmi Sarkar run Mana Organics, a social enterprise that helps small farmers improve soil fertility through chemical-free methods and navigate the country's complex food supply chain. Organic produce from its two projects in Tinsukia, Assam, and three villages in Madhya Pradesh are sold in New Delhi and Kolkata. Early days Registered as...
More »Health insurance for all likely in January -Sushmi Dey
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government is likely to roll out its much touted National Health Assurance Mission (NAHM) in January, promising health insurance for all. The PMO last week asked the health ministry to work out the modalities of the scheme as well as revamp the existing Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) to expand its span to include universal coverage, said an official. RSBY, currently managed by the labour...
More »