The first global report on disability reveals how the exclusion of 1 billion people – invisible in official statistics and absent from aid budgets – is holding back development progress The UN millennium development goals (MDGs) may not be met by 2015 unless urgent action is taken to address the needs of people with disabilities, according to the first world report on disability. More than 1 billion people live with a disability,...
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Cash cure for leaky PDS by Anirban Bhaumik
The Government proposal to make cash transfer in place of food grain to poor families has drawn mixed reactions. Raghuvir Nagar on the western outskirts of Delhi has of late turned into a turf for a war between two schools of thought. The war has not been limited to campaigns and debates and purportedly escalated to the level of allegations, even intimidation, so much so that the Government of the national...
More »Breaking a cultural taboo by Maitreyee Handique
Women speak out fears of resisting deep-seated taboos associated with menstruation, viewed even today as polluting in much of India The status of women in India, despite all the brave talk, remains as precarious as ever. This is, after all, a culture which not just condones, but actively encourages the termination of foetuses determined to be female. Other crimes of violence against women are routine. Can things ever change? We took...
More »Young children should avoid using cell phones by R Prasad
Cells of children rapidly divide and hence are more sensitive to any radiation. The brain area exposed to radiation is also large If the World Health Organisation has classified mobile phones as “possibly carcinogenic” on May 31, the Council of Europe's parliamentary assembly took a proactive step by adopting a resolution on May 27. The Council has recommended restrictions on the use of mobile phones and wireless Internet access in all schools...
More »Midday meals cooked by dalits go waste by Akshaya Mukul
A dalit chief minister in Mayawati has not changed the deep-seated caste bias in schools of Uttar Pradesh. In 40% schools of Shahjehanpur, Badaun and Pilibhit districts, teachers do not taste the mid-day meal food and students refuse to eat it since the cooks belong to lower caste. The rot in MDM in these three districts is not confined to caste bias alone. It has also been found that in schools...
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