-Press Information Bureau The India Rural Development Report 2012/13 was released here by Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister for Rural Development, Government of India. The Report was prepared by IDFC Foundation in collaboration with network partners, the Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS), the Institute for Rural Management Anand (IRMA), and the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), with contributions from several other researchers, experts and civil society organisations. On...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Following recommendations of the Prime Minister's National Council on India's nutrition challenges, the women and child development (WCD) ministry has proposed a multi-sectoral nutrition programme to be implemented as a special intervention in 200 high burden districts across the country with an aim to reduce child under-nutrition and reduction in levels of anemia among young children, adolescent girls and women. The Rs 1,213 crore programme...

-The Hindustan Times Just 81 districts in India accounted for more than one-third of child mortality below five years of age in 2012 and half of these deaths were of girls, a new study published in the international journal Lancet has said. The black spots for the Indian children are widespread with even districts in well-off states like Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka being...

-India Today The BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is going to fight the next general elections on the development plank, and he puts forth Gujarat as the model of development. At public meetings, he has been appealing to other states and the Centre to follow his model. But the latest index released by the finance ministry may prove to be a pinprick. It shows Gujarat has not done as well...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: An expert panel has ranked Gujarat 12th among states in development, its findings flying in the face of Narendra Modi's claims but winning endorsement from economists The Telegraph spoke to. The committee, headed by Raghuram Rajan who has since been appointed Reserve Bank governor, assessed states on the basis of 10 criteria, which included many human development indicators. Bengal came 16th. Economist and Planning Commission member Abhijit Sen, who...