Although the focus of erstwhile UPA and the present NDA government has been to achieve higher economic growth by reaping the 'demographic dividend', a recent report from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) informs us that a substantial chunk of the population underwent ageing during the last 60 years. The report entitled Elderly in India: Profile and Programmes 2016 from CSO (that comes under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation) shows...

-The Hindu The global vaccine 'switch', from trivalent to bivalent OPV, has been recommended by the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts as a critical component of the polio endgame strategy Beginning Monday, April 25, India will stop using the oral polio vaccine (OPV) with all three strains of the poliovirus (type 1, type 2 and type 3) and instead use OPV vaccines with only two strains — type 1 and type 3....

-The Hindu Business Line Deepalaya, a library in a corner of Delhi, is quietly transforming lives of children by giving them access to books On Mondays and Fridays it’s easy to find the way to Deepalaya library, you just have to follow the children. Some are still in their school uniforms, most have changed into colourful ‘home wear’; and in groups of twos and threes, with books tucked under their arms, they...

-Outlook Is the devolution of ­national funds to states really worth the praise? * Share of the states in the divisible pool of central taxes has risen from 32% to 42% for five years till 2019-20 * Rise in untied funds transferred is accompanied by cut in Central assistance for state plan spending * Limited ability of the poorer states to expand their fiscal space with own revenue collection * Funds for rural development...

-The Indian Express There is a mounting employment crisis in India. The current growth model, built on large private investments, cannot address the problem. Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan raised many hackles with his demand for affirmative action or job reservations for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates in the private sector. He suggested that “providing quota in private jobs will help cool down anger among SC and STs”, thereby stemming...