-Frontline The NCRB data used to justify the new law bringing down the age of responsibility for criminal action are open to interpretation. Often the same data can be interpreted in different ways to arrive at contrary conclusions. Portions of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data have been quoted ad nauseam by the government and the media alike to justify the changes made in the juvenile justice law. Experts from the...
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Like it or not, reports show people want MNREGA jobs -Mahua Venkatesh
-Hindustan Times If you are a fence sitter on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MNREGA), not sure whether it is good or bad, here is data to confuse you some more. As payments for jobs under the scheme remain sluggish, there has been a 60% increase in households registering for the programme in the August to November period this year. The higher registration of households is expected to push...
More »States fail to implement MDMS with vigour, finds CAG report
In its performance audit of the Mid Day Meal Scheme (MDMS) carried out in 27 states (except Mizoram) and 7 Union Territories (UTs) during the period 2009-10 to 2013-14, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India has observed that the provision of noon meals in public schools could not stop children's enrolment in private schools because quality of education imparted is a major concern among the guardians. (Please check the...
More »Man made starvation: UP’s failure to implement the National Food Security Act intensifies survival crisis in drought-affected areas -Jean Drèze
-The Times of India Recent reports from Bundelkhand, or rather from the side of Bundelkhand that lies in Uttar Pradesh, are most alarming. A rapid survey conducted by Swaraj Abhiyan, under the leadership of Yogendra Yadav, found evidence of famine-like conditions developing in the area. To illustrate, 38% of the sample villages reported at least one death due to starvation or malnutrition in the preceding eight months. Among poor families, barely half...
More »Crop insurance or deficiency payments? -Sukhpal Singh
-Livemint.com The most glaring implication of the proposed deficiency payments is that it makes the state give up its responsibility of intervening in markets During the past few months, there has been a highly contested debate on the merits, viability and feasibility of crop insurance in India given the large number of small farmers and the large amount of subsidy involved that is not being effectively used as the coverage of...
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