Half of the country's population still defecates in the open even after 60 years of independence, the Planning Commission has admitted. Faced with the harsh reality of open defecation by a vast majority, affecting the dignity of women and girls the most, the plan panel is revamping its strategy and is set to raise spending on government programme on sanitation and drinking water. "Around 60 crore people defecate in the open," plan...
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Goa, Kerala best states in which to be born in India by Kounteya Sinha
Goa and Kerala seem to be the best place to be born in India, while Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha are the worst. According to the latest Union health ministry data, Goa recorded the lowest infant mortality rate - 10 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, followed by Kerala at 13. MP recorded the highest IMR at 62, followed by UP (61) and Odisha (61). MP, which has the highest IMR,...
More »Bengal babus to lose right to strike?
-The Times of India It will be illegal for government employees in the state to go on strike or hold rallies if chief minister Mamata Banerjee has her way. In a decision that has sent ripples down both camps, the government wants to take away the employees ' right to association, leave aside strike, that the Left Front government had bestowed upon them. The bold step - once approved by the Cabinet -...
More »Do we need the Aadhar scheme?
-The Business Standard Its guarantee of non-duplication can have far-reaching cost benefits but it has deep design flaws that can be compromised. PRAVEEN CHAKRAVARTY Former Volunteer, Financial Inclusion, UIDAI* “Aadhaar is an unadulterated identity programme that answers the question: Is the individual who he or she claims to be?” The word “unique”, and not “identity”, is central to the unique identity programme or Aadhaar. It may be true that the vast majority of people possess some...
More »UP students outclass rest of India by Akshaya Mukul
One of the most comprehensive survey of learning achievement of class V students by NCERT shows that mean achievement of children of Uttar Pradesh in language and mathematics is highest in the country. In environmental studies, UP students are a close second after Tamil Nadu (72.30%), with a mean score of 67.15%. In all respects - performance of girls, rural children and percentage of children getting more than 80% - UP...
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