-The Times of India NEW DELHI: In India, even after completing four years of school, 90% of children from poorer households remain illiterate. And this also holds true for around 30% of kids from poorer homes despite five to six years of schooling. Besides, only 44% of rural students in the Std V age group in Maharashtra and 53% in Tamil Nadu could perform two-digit subtraction. And it will take another 66...
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Illegal sale of PDS food grain on the rise-Yunus Y Lasania
-The Hindu Huge quantities of stock being routinely seized from middle-men Hyderabad: How much of food grain supplied under the Public Distribution System (PDS) is actually being consumed by white-card holders? Does the scheme truly satisfy its beneficiaries? While the answers are elusive, the fact remains that large quantities of stock are being sold illegally. Statistics provided by the Vigilance & Enforcement (V&E) Department show that huge quantities of stock are routinely being...
More »Claiming NREGA from below-Akansha Yadav
-The Indian Express Social audits should not be judged by state response alone. They create awareness about rights and create engaged citizens. This article is in response to Farzana Afridi's ‘Social audit isn't enough' (IE, January 22). Social audits have been enshrined as one of the transparency and accountability tools in the MGNREGA. Such accountability mechanisms aim to strengthen the otherwise weak institutions of delivery as they engage the beneficiaries in the...
More »The Ganga needs water, not money -Sunita Narain
-The Business Standard Way back in 1986, Rajiv Gandhi launched the Ganga Action Plan. But years later, after much water (sewage) and money have flowed down the river, it is as bad as it could get. Why are we failing, and what needs to be done differently to clean this and many other rivers? According to recent estimates by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), faecal coliform levels in the mainstream of...
More »Defending people's milk in India
-Grain.org "We take care of the cow and the cow takes care of us," says Marayal, a farmer in Thalavady, Tamil Nadu. Her two cows produce 6 to 10 litres of milk a day, which she sells for 30-40 cents per litre. Across India, there are millions of backyard dairy farmers like Marayal. Each owning just one or two cows, these farmers supply millions more families and hundreds of thousands of informal...
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