-The Hindu Parliamentary panel pushes for it in all government schools in coming academic year The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education has recommended that all government schools start providing free breakfast in the coming academic year, as part of an expansion of the mid-day meal scheme envisaged by the National Education Policy. However, Education Ministry officials say a severe funding crunch is likely to delay the initiative. Free breakfasts would involve an additional...

-The Hindu Several trade unions, feminists and research groups and policy advocates have come together on International Women’s Day to campaign for the rights of anganwadi workers, helpers and ASHAs with Members of Parliament and to highlight their plight during the pandemic. The Frontline Workers’ Solidarity Campaign will be addressing several MPs as Parliament reconvenes for the second part of the Budget Session on Monday. The drive is being spearheaded by Feminist...

When a massive sum of public money is spent on a programme like Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MGNREGA)--a demand-driven programme, there is likelihood of financial misappropriations and mismanagement. Thankfully there are checks and balances in the rural employment guarantee legislation to counter such malpractices. It is worth noting that the total allocation under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MGNREGA) for 2020-21 was Rs. 1,11,500.00 crore (R.E.), up...

-The Indian Express Evidence suggests that citizen participation in Budgeting and closer engagement in the monitoring of civic works results in better outcomes and fewer leakages. The Budget season is upon us. The Union Budget, which lays out the receipt and expenditure proposals of the Government of India, is an annual feature in Parliament on February 1. It receives extensive press coverage — in fact, it sends both TV and print media...

-The Hindu Decision taken “in the context of the onslaught of the government”, it says The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) affiliated to the RSS has announced a phase-wide agitation from March 15 to November 11 against the proposed disinvestment programme of the public sector units (PSUs) by the Union government. The decision was taken at a two-day meeting of the BMS’ PSUs Coordination Committee in Hyderabad that ended on Friday. The meeting came...