-CivilSocietyOnline.com At a recent interaction with a large group of colleagues in a regional meeting, one relatively junior member who viSITs schools daily as part of his training schedule was very disturbed with his experiences in a school. He did not like the way teachers were treated by senior functionaries when they viSITed the school. The functionaries did not empathise with several SITuations that the teachers faced in the school —...

-The New Indian Express NEW DELHI: Amid controversial reports of hunger deaths in Jharkhand due to PDS beneficiaries being turned away, economist Jean Dreze says that even official records show that a significant proportion of people are being deprived of food rations every month. In an interview with New Sunday Express, the prime mover behind the NREGA welfare scheme said “this does not mean that Aadhaar is solely responsible for the failures...

-Hindustan Times As per the latest National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau, which has been collecting data on diet and nutritional status of rural, tribal and urban populations for almost four decades, the calorie intake of children (1-3 years) in rural areas was only about 70% of their requirement due to shortage. In India, more than 4.8 crore children suffer from stunting, which means they are below the normal height range for their...

-PTI Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court directed the West Bengal government on Friday to file an action taken report on the dengue menace that has affected a large number of people in the state. A division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya and Justice Arijit Banerjee directed the state government to submit the report by coming Friday when a set of PILs seeking steps to control the vector-borne disease and compensation...

-The Indian Express Delhi metro’s fare increase prices out the poor. Those arguing against offering subsidies ignore the multiplier effect of an affordable mass tranSIT system. The most enduring image I have of the Delhi metro is that of a shared ride with a construction worker. His shoes and clothes, turned a uniform grey by dirt, told the story of a hard day’s work spent on a construction SITe. A comfortable ride...