-The Pioneer A reality check for the ever- increasing inflation era exposes the farce of Government-sponsored Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS). When pulses are priced at Rs 90 per kg, inferior quality of rice or wheat at Rs 20 per kg, vegetables at Rs 40 a kg and edible oil over at Rs 100 per kg, providing a quality meal at Rs 3.34 to a child is impossible. According to several NGOs/SHGs...
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Myth of the great Indian growth -Ashish Kothari
-The Hindustan Times India's fabled growth story has just been exposed by an unlikely source - the World Bank (WB). Unlikely, because this institution is one of those most responsible for advocating economic growth as the pillar of development. In a report released on July 17, the WB states that the cost of environmental damage amounts to 5.7% of India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This effectively means (though the report fights shy of...
More »Women need accurate information, support to promote breastfeeding, says UN agency
-The United Nations The United Nations health agency today called for ensuring that women have accurate information and support regarding the importance of breastfeeding, after a new report found that only 1 in 5 countries fully implement international guidelines about the marketing of breast-milk substitutes. "Nearly all mothers are physically able to breastfeed and will do so if they have accurate information and support," said Carmen Casanovas, breastfeeding expert with the Department...
More »Scanner on school no-detention policy -Basant Kumar Mohanty
-The Telegraph New Delhi: Easy promotions may lead to poor performance in school, a government committee has found. Class X board results have worsened across the states in the three years since the Right To Education Act stipulated compulsory promotions till Class VIII, a member of the panel told The Telegraph. The act mandates schools to conduct "continuous and comprehensive evaluation" (CCE), which means pupils' scholastic and co-scholastic skills should be assessed round...
More »Ashish Bose, noted demographer interviewed by Somesh Jha
Ashish Bose coined the term BIMARU in a paper to then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in the 1980s to highlight the economic backwardness of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. He tells Somesh Jha he is not inspired by the Planning Commission’s bogus poverty figures. He says it is time the commission wound up. Excerpts: * You coined the term 'BIMARU', but these states performed well in alleviating poverty in...
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