-The Economic Times UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi would launch a new scheme on Wednesday to improve child healthcare under the National Rural Health Mission, under which every child younger than six years would be screened for 30 select deficiencies and disorders. To be kicked off at Palghar, a tribal block in Maharashtra's Thane district, the scheme envisages issuing a follow-up or treatment guidance to children, depending on their symptoms and health status....

-First Post Sabarkantha: In a shocking case of discrimination, students of a government school in Sabarkantha district of Gujarat have rejected the government’s mid day meal scheme because the utensils used are washed by Bhavanaben Makwana, a dalit woman. “I joined this school looking for a job. But since I have joined, students have stopped coming for meals. Only children from my community come,” Bhavanben said. Ramanbai Patel, the village sarpanch said that...

-NDTV Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has put off the land acquisition for Rs. 52,000 crore Posco steel plant in Jagatsinghpur district today after protests by local villagers since the process resumed last week. The police force deployed at the Gobindpur village near the Posco site will also be withdrawn for now. The move comes a day after standoff between villagers and police when the cops allegedly tried to enter the village. The agitators, including...

-Al Jazeera Widening wealth gap in Beijing has stoked concerns over its impact on political and social stability. The Chinese government has issued a pledge to narrow the widening income gap between rich and poor, which includes raising its minimum wage and requiring state companies to turn over more profits to pay for social programmes. The pledge on Tuesday promised more spending on health, education and job training but gave few details and...

-Outlook Lamenting that standard of teachers in not up to the mark and learning outcomes are below expectations, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said "major concerns" in the field of education need to be addressed. Singh also noted that "drop-out rates in schools remain high after the elementary level. Some major concerns relating to equity also remain to be addressed." The Prime Minister's comments come a day after he regretted that none of...