-Live Mint The mid-day scheme is underpinned by a rent-seeking chain that keeps all the major stakeholders satisfied The mid-day meal (MDM) tragedy in Chhapra once again focuses attention on the low-level equilibrium that our public systems are trapped in. Consider these facts. Apart from rice, which has to be collected from the local ration shop, the MDM programme allocates each primary and upper-primary child Rs3.11 and Rs4.65, respectively to purchase pulses,...

-The Business Standard Said his govt had introduced a lot of reforms and had worked on the ground for eight years before enforcing a legislation New Delhi: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on Tuesday said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government would need another 10 years to implement the National Food Security Ordinance. Singh, who was the chief guest at a symposium on food security here, said his government had introduced a lot...

-Outlook In the wake of the mid-day meal tragedy in Bihar, Centre has engaged the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to randomly test samples of food served as part of the scheme for quality and their protein and calorie content. In fact, the measure has already been implemented in Delhi and Andhra Pradesh and results are awaited of the first samples collected in the two states. Scientists from CSIR would be...

-The Hindu     Women are essential for the success of schemes like the mid-day meal programme. Improving their wages and working conditions would be better than blaming them when things go wrong. Mahatma Gandhi once declared, "A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members." By this yardstick, India does not fare well. Consider recent headlines alone: 23 Bihari children die after eating poisoned midday meals at their schools. Six-year-old...

-The Indian Express Why are we reticent about using techno-industrial solutions to reduce malnutrition? The death of several children from consuming a toxic midday meal in Bihar evoked a great sense of outrage. But this outrage will, in all probability, soon die down. Yet, this tragedy, as many reports show, is the tip of the iceberg. Beneath it lies unseen a story of poor service delivery and a lack of commitment. India...