-IdeasForIndia.in The Mandal Commission and Sachar Committee reports, among others, have indicated the existence of caste inequalities within the four major caste groups. However, data on this subject remain limited. Using data from a novel 2014-2015 Survey conducted in Uttar Pradesh, this article shows that within-group inequalities among upper castes are significantly less, relative to the within-group inequalities observed among both Hindu and Muslim OBCs and Dalits. Broadly, four social groups –...

-NDTV.com One of the biggest roadblocks in providing adequate and timely funds to MSMEs is the non-availability of reliable and consolidated data about them Though government runs a host of schemes to support micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which have faced the maximum brunt of the Coronavirus-induced lockdown in 2020, providing them timely and adequate funds becomes a roadblock, a fact which has been acknowledged even by the Finance Ministry. Funds are...

-The Hindu Improving natural iron absorption from iron-rich grains is a better strategy than chemical iron fortification of cereals Is iron deficiency universal and profound in India? Is it due to dietary iron deficiency? With the Indian vegetarian diet, containing 8.5 mg iron/1,000 Kcal-energy, women who eat adequately (enough energy for a sedentary lifestyle), should have an iron intake of about 15 mg/day, matching their daily iron requirement (15 mg/day). Adult men...

On Janaushadhi Diwas this year (i.e., March 7th, 2022), Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi stated that the poor and the middle-class benefited from the 'Jan Aushadhi Kendras' that were set up to provide generic drugs at affordable prices. He said that the poor and the middle class saved around Rs.13,000 crore through these stores during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the wake of COVID 19 crisis, the 'Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India'...

-Newsclick.in Work participation has steadily declined, unemployment is at 7% or more and median yearly income in 2020-21 was an abysmal Rs.1.7 lakh, as per CMIE. In the past five years, the economic slowdown, pandemic and its disastrous response and the Narendra Modi government’s indifference to the common people has led to a steadily worsening economic crisis. The government, perhaps buoyed by electoral successes, has given up on reviving the living condition...