-Down to Earth Jan Swasthya Abhiyan sends charter of demands to political parties As elections approach and parties announce candidates' lists, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), the Indian circle of People's Health Movement, is trying to convince all political parties to include health as a prominent issue in their manifestos. After discussing the matter with other civil society members and groups, JSA has sent a charter of demands to political parties. While finalising the demands,...
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Employer of the last resort? -Sonalde Desai, Omkar Joshi and Reeve Vanneman
-The Hindu The Centre's rural employment guarantee scheme can be substantially improved, but it has undeniably helped Dalits, Adivasis and women find work In an era of growing globalisation and rising inequality, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) stands out as a unique attempt to provide a social safety net via a massive public works programme. The government as an employer of the last resort is an idea that...
More »Taking technology to the farmer-MS Swaminathan
-Financial Chronicle India's independence in 1947 had the great Bengal famine as its backdrop. During the Bengal famine of 1942-43, over three million children, women and men died of starvation. India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, therefore, said in 1947, "Everything else can wait; but not agriculture". This commitment led to the initiation of several programmes in the field of agriculture, such as extension of irrigation facilities, establishment of seed corporations,...
More »Narendra Modi’s Gujarat not a role model in urban spending
-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: Narendra Modi-led Gujarat may be high on economic Growth, but it is not a state companies would rush to for selling their goods. Per capita monthly spending in urban Gujarat is below the national average and rural Gujarat does not figure among the top spenders, according to a National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) report based on household consumer expenditure survey of 2011-12. Haryana and Kerala headed...
More »Declining sex ratios seen in gender scorecard -Sonalde Desai
-The Hindu While the stagnation in women's ability to control their own fate is disappointing, some of the other gender indicators are downright alarming On International Women's Day, the Election Commission of India held a special campaign to bring women voters to the polls. Although men and women vote at a more or less similar rate in State elections, women are 6-8 percentage points behind in the Lok Sabha elections where national...
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