-The Indian Express The Centre is pushing and many states are implementing Direct Benefit Transfers – and encountering little political opposition The entire focus on ushering in a direct benefit transfer (DBT) regime for delivering subsidies to the targeted populations has so far centered around cooking gas, and to some extent, on isolated pilot experiments with food subsidy. Agriculture subsidies, especially on inputs other than fertilisers, have largely escaped attention in...

-Hindustan Times Jaipur: Three-year-old Pawan of Dhaikheda village in Salumbder block of Udaipur district loves his new routine. He goes to a phulwari, a day-care centre, in Medifala under Bedawal gram panchayat every day at 9 am where he gets three meals, plays with toys as young tribal women from the area read out to him poems and stories. His two sisters had died of malnutrition. Pawan too was diagnosed with acute...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: India will be half a century late in achieving its universal education goals, according to a Unesco report released on Monday. This means the country will achieve universal primary education by 2050, universal lower secondary education in 2060 and universal upper secondary education in 2085. The 2030 deadline for achieving sustainable development goals will be possible only if India introduces fundamental changes in the education sector,...

-Livemint.com Labour unions are reinventing their strategy to stay relevant in today’s world New Delhi: Ajitesh Pandey, a law student in Calcutta University, is excited about the 2 September strike called by labour unions. With almost child-like enthusiasm, the member of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), has been sharing pictures, slogans, and details related to the protest with his friends and colleagues. Pandey’s excitement reflects a surprising vibrancy in how unions...

-The Indian Express According to data compiled by NCRB for 2015, 8,800 cases of rape on children were registered across the country under the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences Act (POCSO). New Delhi: INDICATING the extent of exploitation involved in child labour, latest government statistics show that over 25 per cent of rapes on children last year were committed by their employers and co-workers. According to data compiled by the National...