-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Government's failure to run the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) scheme smoothly in the government schools has not stopped it from proposing to extend the programme to cover 25% children of private schools in SC, ST and minority-concentrated districts. Initially, the idea was criticized within the HRD ministry and now both the finance ministry and the Planning Commission have put a spanner in the proposal. Sources in the...

-The Hindu Younger daughters-in-law in rural families have shorter children on average, says research There is new evidence that the unequal social status of women could play a significant - and as yet ignored - role in explaining India's "inexplicably" high under-nutrition levels. For its per capita income, India has stubbornly higher than expected levels of stunting and under-weight among children and adults - the so-called "Asian enigma" which, with countries like...

-Outlook Thane: Maharashtra's Minister for Tribal Development Madhukar Pichad admitted here on Monday that large scale malnutrition deaths occurred in Thane district of Maharashtra due to non-availability of proper medical infrastructure and healthcare facilities. Pichad said this while visiting the predominently tribal Jawhar and Mokhada talukas of Thane district on Monday, where large scale child deaths have been reported since the last three months. It may be recalled that it was way back...

-Down to Earth Centre wants to treat anaemia with iron tablets. Can pills substitute nutritious food? Eleven-year-old Indumati Katla, who lives in Wazirpur, Delhi, went to school on July 17. There, her class teacher asked her to gulp down a maroon tablet. Two hours later, she was in hospital recuperating from severe nausea, giddiness and fatigue. She was among the 200 government school students in Delhi who fell ill that day after...

-Down to Earth Government claims a huge drop in poverty numbers but critical indicators-health, malnutrition and wages-continue to be grim. So how did the poor fare better? After a long, long time there was good news to splash as media led with the report of a record 21.9 per cent drop in poverty levels. The July 24 newspaper headlines were celebratory as they reported the Planning Commission's findings that poverty rates...