-The Indian Express It did not raise its voice in protest against the Midday meal deaths in Bihar In Bihar, more than 20 children died after consuming a Midday meal. One would have expected largescale protests, anger, demands. But the incident has been greeted by an eerie silence. Egypt, Turkey, Brazil, India - these are some of the countries where mass protests, largely by the middle classes, have brought issues to the streets...

-The Times of India Jaipur/AJMER: It appears that the authorities in the state haven't learned any lessons from the Midday meal tragedy that claimed the lives of 20 children in a school in Chhapra, Bihar. At least 79 kids of a government higher secondary school in Maliyon Ka Mohalla in Baneda town of Bhilwara district fell ill after consuming contaminated Midday meal. Preliminary investigations indicate that a lizard was found in the cooked...

-Outlook New Delhi: The supply of Midday meal to a North Delhi Municipal Corporation primary school was today stopped after the principal and three others complained of stomach ache after having the food. The incident was reported from primary school in Rohini sector 21, where the four tasted the Midday meal comprising halwa-chana before serving it to the children. The food, prepared by Maitri Research and Development Foundation, was first tasted by the...

-The Indian Express No magic pill solution or quick fix can make up for basic administrative deficiencies In a review of Jean Drèze and Amartya Sen's latest book in the Financial Times (July 12, 2013), historian Ramachandra Guha questions whether the Indian state is "up to the job of doing more to tackle poverty". Mainstream debates about the persistence of poverty and pervasive failures in public service delivery in India tend to...

-Outlook In the wake of the mid-day meal tragedy in Bihar, Centre has engaged the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to randomly test samples of food served as part of the scheme for quality and their protein and calorie content. In fact, the measure has already been implemented in Delhi and Andhra Pradesh and results are awaited of the first samples collected in the two states. Scientists from CSIR would be...