-The Economic Times In January 2012, PM Manmohan Singh declared half of India's children were malnourished and that was a national shame. Yet since then, not a single comprehensive national survey was conducted to determine the acuteness of the problem or measure progress, if any, of steps initiated to address malnutrition. Worse, the issue figures in a token manner in the election discourse of political parties and candidates. The 2005-06 National...

-Down to Earth One-third of India's population are migrants, but the country is yet to make a policy or plan for them, says collaborative study report by Institute of Social Sciences and UNICEF As many as 309 million people, nearly a third of India's population, were migrants according to the 2001 Census. But the only ‘right' which they are able to exercise is the one that allows all citizens the right to...

-Down to Earth Grand old party of India renews some old promises and makes some new ones, but will Congress live up to its promises if it wins a third term? The Indian National Congress (INC) presented its manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on Wedneday. The manifesto committee claimed the 48-page document was prepared after wide consultations by engaging millions of people, grassroots congress workers and every section of the...

-The Hindu     To screen developmental delays and disabilities in children THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The departments of Health and Social Justice are launching a major joint initiative to tackle childhood disabilities through the early identification of developmental delays and disabilities and early interventions so that these conditions do not become permanent or debilitating. District Early Intervention Centres (DEICs) will soon be opened in every district hospital and this will be the first point of screening for...

-DNA The food is not up to the mark either, the study conducted by Support for Advocacy and Training to Health Initiatives has found. Mumbai: Nearly 45,000 children in the 0-6 age group die of malnutrition every year in Maharashtra. As a preventive measure, the government spends Rs300 crore yearly to provide kids with "micronutrient-fortified, energy-dense" food under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS). But the project is a waste of money...