-The Hindu The Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) launched in 2011 to enumerate castes along with socio-economic data, is progressing, and is likely to be completed soon. A stand-alone caste headcount may not normally be desirable in a country grappling with the adverse consequences of social hierarchy and caste-based divisions. However, in conjunction with socio-economic data, a caste census may yield quantifiable data that could be used to evaluate measures such...

-Employment News The article discusses some of the features of the newly proposed Swachch Bharat Abhiyan. Though the detailed guidelines of the programme have not been issued yet, a preliminary assessment has been made from the information available in the public domain. The article highlights that the high degree of policy priority accorded to sanitation with the introduction of the programme could go a long way in achieving an open defecation...

-DNA India's rising affluence and water profligacy could trigger a food crisis very soon At first blush, there is a lot to be cheerful about. India's index of industrial production has resumed its climb. Stalled projects are being dusted and revived. There is a good chance that Employment figures, too, will begin rising by the end of the next quarter. Then there is more good news. Per capital GDP (Gross Domestic Product)...

-The Hindu The Deutsche Bank Urban Age Award 2014 sought to recognise projects that work towards improving the urban conditions of communities in Delhi We know what's going wrong, and we ask the right questions; questions which crop up while our car drives down narrow roads with broken street lights, landfills spilling over with waste we have created from nothing, and slums we cannot really imagine the insides of. Our city is...

-The New Indian Express BENGALURU: The Narendra Modi government, which has recently cut the funds to the state for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), has now limited the scheme to cover just 69 most backward taluks. According to an official source, the Union Ministry of Rural Development has sent a communication to the state government asking it to focus on the most backward taluks, instead of all...