India has been ranked the fourth most dangerous country in the world for women, but the widespread practice of selectively aborting female foetuses may make it the most hostile to the female gender. In the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, where the child sex ratio (0 - 6 years of age) has dropped to 886 girls per 1,000 boys - according to provisional data in the 2011 census - a strong civil...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Row over poverty line by Sanjay K Jha and Basant Kumar Mohanty
The Planning Commission’s new definition of poverty widely criticised as being unrealistic has caused disquiet in the UPA, with Congress leaders privately dubbing the benchmarks insensitive and ally NCP publicly slamming them as an “insult to the poor”. Congress leaders believe the figures, under which anyone spending more than Rs 32 a day in urban areas and Rs 26 in villages will not be considered poor and hence will not be...
More »Sheila Dikshit asks minority communities to focus on modern education
-PTI Seeking reform in Madrasas, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today called upon minority communities to focus on modern education and exhorted them to take optimum benefit of the Right to Education Act. Describing the RTE as a major initiative of the UPA government to bring about reform in the education sector, Dikshit said minority communities must take full advantage of the legislation and make their children excel in every field. "Union Government has...
More »Maharashtra cabinet clears RTE rule, private schools fume by Surendra Gangan
The state cabinet on Wednesday cleared the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rule, 2011, that would facilitate the state government in implementing the RTE Act passed by the Centre in 2009. This means the children from slums can opt for any private school run by a central or international board in their vicinity. But, the state cabinet's decision to implement the Right to Education (RTE) Act in its true...
More »Land rush and sustainable food security by MS Swaminathan
Managing our soil and water resources in a sustainable and equitable manner needs a new political vision, which can be expressed through the proposed Land Acquisition Bill and the recently formed Global Soil Partnership. On the basis of a proposal I had made three years ago, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) launched a Global Soil Partnership for Food Security and Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation at a multi-stakeholder conference, held...
More »