As states get together to launch security operations, official data from the first-ever study done of the country’s 33 districts hardest hit by Naxalites, shows an abysmal record of government expenditure on basic amenities, including health, education, roads, electricity and child care. In fact, the evidence couldn’t be more stark: the expenditure in a state’s Naxal-affected districts is merely a fraction of the figure for the rest of the state...

Unauthorized medical practitioners find business where Bihar’s health machinery deserts polio victims Two-year-old Khushi Kumari loves racing with her siblings and at the end of each run she gives out a hearty laugh. The only time she breaks into fits of inconsolable crying is when approached by a stranger. “She fears she would get injections again,” said her mother Dinapati Yadav of Haldichapra village in Patna district. “In September last year...

The filthy, moss-covered ponds that many rural people depend on could turn into limpid pools of fresh water if a central scheme that kicks off in June is a success. The government plans to list every water body in the country, assess the condition of each, and “revitalise” the most neglected ones through de-silting and prevention of pollution and encroachment. A sum of Rs 4,000 crore has been set aside for the...

The state government is contemplating building multiplexes in some selected gram panchayats to make urban entertainment available to the rural populace. Provisions starting from video parlours to indoor games, community halls and auditoriums will be available in these rural multiplexes. Besides, there will be at least 40 shops in each of the rural multiplex, which will be built on public-private partnership (PPP) mode. The proposal was discussed at a meeting chaired by...

The aftershock of the global financial crisis threatens to deprive millions of children in the world’s poorest countries of an education, the 2010 Education for All Global Monitoring Report warns. With 72 million children still out of school, a combination of slower economic growth, rising poverty and budget pressures could erode the gains of the past decade. “While rich countries nurture their economic recovery, many poor countries face the imminent prospect...