-The Indian Express Human Development Report: Spending 4% of GDP can ensure social security net. India may have little to feel proud about in the findings of UNDP's Human Development Report for 2014, but the good news is that with ongoing rural employment and school education programmes and some serious discussions on universal healthcare over the last couple of years, it is moving in the right direction. The report gives a six-point...

-The Hindu Business Line   Perpetual growth is a piece of nonsense. The focus should be on protecting livelihoods through sustainable means Construct a building, demolish it, reconstruct, break it down again, and go on repeating this meaningless exercise. You will have economic growth, as currently measured. But no net gain in employment during the endless cycle of construction and demolition, no net increase in productive capacity, and no appreciable change in poverty...

-The Telegraph The increase in enrolment in primary education in South Asian countries between 2001 and 2010 has not been matched by an increase in learning outcome of children, threatening economic growth in the region, a World Bank report has said. The report titled Student Learning in South Asia has analysed several studies in areas of learning outcome and the link between poor quality primary education and its impact on economic growth. The...

-PSainath.org   The adivasi women of Edamalakudi, Kerala's remotest panchayat, have formed a headload workers' group, helped light up their villages with solar power, and practice group farming in wild elephant territory. All are Muthavan tribals. Almost all are members of Kerala's extraordinary anti-poverty and gender justice movement - Kudumbashree. They are also neighbours of Chinnathambi, the keeper of the Wilderness Library. When 60 women in Edamalakudi carried about a hundred solar...

-The Times of India   NEW DELHI: The Delhi government's report on child labour rescue operations since 2009 reveals that joint operation teams in districts managed to free just about 4,132 children up to March this year in over 1,400 rescue missions. Non-governmental organizations put the number of child labourers in Delhi anywhere between a conservative 1 lakh and a board assessment of 5 lakh. Census 2001 had put the official figure...