-The Times of India NEW DELHI: An expert committee under chief economic advisor Raghuram Rajan has identified 10 parameters for a new Composite Development Index, whose adoption by the Centre will change the way thousands of crores are transferred annually and can potentially set the stage for realignment of political forces in Bihar before the 2014 polls. The new index seeks to rate states on the basis of their distance from the...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Schools for scandal -Anil Sadgopal
-Frontline The midday meal scheme is a grand idea in a flawed school system. "THEY played here, studied here and got buried here!" (Yahin khela, yahin padha aur yahin ho gaya dafan). With these emphatic words, grieving parents buried the bodies of two children within the compound of the Dharmasati Gandaman Primary School of Masharakh block in Saran district of Bihar. This sentiment was expressed with great dignity even in the...
More »Disaster management authority a disaster?-Sreelatha Menon
-The Business Standard The Uttarakhand floods have put the spotlight on the competence of the national body which was created with a vision 'to build a safer and disaster-resilient India' When thousands got swept away by floods in Uttarakhand on the night of June 16, little help reached the mountains till at least a day had passed. Though the weather department had issued a warning, the magnitude of the disaster shows that...
More »Missing ingredient in the school lunch -Akansha Yadav, Kavita Srinivasan and Sowmya Kidambi
-The Hindu Social audits of the mid-day meal scheme by parents can ensure that the world's largest intervention against hunger that also helps keep children in school need not suffer setbacks like the Bihar tragedy This week, 23 children lost their lives after having a mid-day meal served at a school in Bihar's Saran district. Preliminary reports suggest that the school lacked a storage facility for foodgrain which led to contamination and...
More »Finance Ministry seeks aid from World Bank, ADB to rebuild Uttarakhand
-PTI The Finance Ministry has sought financial assistance from World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) for rebuilding of damaged infrastructure in flood- ravaged Uttarakhand. "In view of the emergency situation, both ADB and the World Bank have been requested to fast track the processes of needs assessment, project preparation and approval," the Finance Ministry said in a statement. It said a joint mission of the World Bank and ADB, led...
More »