-The Telegraph Targeted policy interventions and awareness programmes needed to prevent suicide Suicide is an unfathomable tragedy. A recent  analysis of data from 113 countries shows that people in 89 nations are more likely to die of suicide than murder. Several countries in Asia have a significantly higher suicide rate than murder — the figures are 56.8 times in Japan, 33.7 times in South Korea and 31.4 times in Singapore. Among the...

-The Hindu Post-COVID learning for children should be accelerated, says World Bank’s Global Director for Education Jaime Saavedra. World Bank’s Global Director for Education Jaime Saavedra was in India last week to meet Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and governments of Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh to discuss concerns over learning losses for children due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for concerted efforts to bridge these gaps. In a sit-down interview...

-Newsclick.in Work participation has steadily declined, unemployment is at 7% or more and median yearly income in 2020-21 was an abysmal Rs.1.7 lakh, as per CMIE. In the past five years, the economic slowdown, pandemic and its disastrous response and the Narendra Modi government’s indifference to the common people has led to a steadily worsening economic crisis. The government, perhaps buoyed by electoral successes, has given up on reviving the living condition...

-The Telegraph Rising prices have now come to confront central banks globally, particularly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine Mumbai: The RBI has brought inflation control to the forefront of its agenda. Pilloried for going soft on prices, the central bank sharply raised the inflation forecast for the year and warned it would withdraw its accommodative stance if inflation strayed too far away from the target. The RBI has been prioritising growth over inflation for...

-TelanganaToday.com India’s food subsidy programmes have the capacity to respond to increased demand. Thoughtful adjustment would reap large-scale benefits. Covid-19 lockdowns aggravated food deprivation in India. The pandemic also revealed opportunities to expand the country’s food subsidy programmes. India’s Public Distribution System (PDS) offers subsidised foodgrains to eligible households. Public pressure during Covid-19 lockdowns led to a brief expansion in the number of beneficiaries in States such as Delhi. Though temporary, the expansion...