-The Times of India The building of school infrastructure as per norms set by the Right to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, is moving at a rather slow pace in the neighbouring Satara district. This, despite the substantial financial allocations made through the central government's Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA) programme. An independent assessment of 146 schools across Satara district, carried out by the New Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research (CPR), has...

-The Economic Times   The much-awaited Food Security Bill, which is being vetted by Parliamentary Standing Committee, may see some changes before being cleared. "The committee may go for universalising the distribution of grains to cover wider range of population," ministry sources said. According to the original bill, the government is planning to make foodgrain available at low prices only to 'certain' targeted sections, that is, the below-poverty line population dividing the...

Jan Swasthya Abhiyan on Friday called for a national public debate on the proposed universal health care system, saying that such an important issue cannot be rushed through and its various strands need to be understood, discussed and commented upon widely by the people. “Definition of a clear, transparent and time-bound road map for strengthening and expanding the public health system while improving its functioning and accountability; this must include allocation...

The housing and houselisting census data do not paint a rosy picture of India in terms of basic amenities for its households. The data on household amenities and assets, released recently by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, are a stark reminder of the immense disparities that exist in India in terms of basic entitlements such as electricity, sanitation facilities, proper drainage, and clean drinking and...

-The Times of India As political parties learn to set up central war-rooms in their headquarters during elections to civic bodies, state assemblies or the Lok Sabha, they are increasingly depending on private detective agencies to collect and collate data in order to gauge people's mood, select prospective candidates and know rival strategies. Sniffing a business opportunity, private players have come up with specialised services of providing ground report to political leaders....