-The Indian Express Why Niti Aayog’s evaluation of Sustainable Development Goals has room for improvement. The NITI Aayog should be complimented for releasing the “SDG India Index Baseline Report 2018”. The document tracks India’s progress at the sub-national level on 13 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The launch of an index that maps India’s endeavours at sustainable development is significant in several ways. The performance of the world’s second-most...

-The Indian Express Direct income support for farmers is too late, too little The hopes of farmers for a meaningful package from the Modi government have evaporated after the announcements in the Union budget. The proposed Rs 6,000 annual direct income support to small and marginal farmers is a drop in the ocean. States like Telangana and Odisha have done much better with their Rythu Bandhu and Kalia schemes respectively. After...

-TheWire.in The proposed Social Security Code, which brings together fifteen labour laws, is an opportunity to think afresh about the challenge of supporting new mothers – even in the informal economy. Maternity entitlements in the form of wage compensation during pregnancy and after delivery is an internationally accepted right for all women workers. It is also recognised as a supportive mechanism for exclusive breastfeeding, critical for child nutrition and well-being. The legislative...

-ThePrint.in CPR report says healthcare centres don’t meet standards designed by health ministry in terms of infrastructure, manpower, medical equipment and drugs. New Delhi: Not a single rural healthcare centre in 15 Indian states meets the bare minimum quality standards — set by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare — such as establishing essential infrastructure, employing the minimum mandated manpower apart from buying required medical equipment and drugs. The findings are part...

-The Indian Express Interim budget does little to tackle unemployment, poverty. And it is clear that the government’s figures cannot be trusted. Last month, I was part of an all-party delegation of MPs from Karnataka, led by a Union cabinet minister, who met the Union rural development minister. We requested him to release the MGNREGA funds overdue to Karnataka. We pleaded that the poorest of the poor, who turn to MGNREGA...