A recent report of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) brings forth the dichotomy between digital divide and India’s transition towards a cashless economy. The rural-urban divide in access to computer and internet is quite stark, according to the report entitled 'Key Indicators of Household Social Consumption on Education in India, July 2017 to June 2018'. The 75th round National Sample Survey (NSS) report on education finds that...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Government must engage in a collaborative effort with farmer groups -Ajay Vir Jakhar
-The Indian Express There is an ambiguous provision to levy income tax on “dairying”. Either the provision should be removed or it should be clarified that it does not include dairy farmers. Dairying is a part of agriculture and as per the Constitution, it is a state subject. Those in power may not yet be accepting blame for the barrage of negative news on the state of the economy, but cracks are...
More »Chalk and cheese in private vs. government schools -Wilima Wadhwa
-The Hindu The Annual Status of Education Report findings make a clear case for strengthening early childhood education centres One of the big debates in early childhood education is on children’s “school readiness” and whether early childhood education provides them with the requisite skills to cope with the school curriculum. A vast literature exists on the importance of certain cognitive abilities that are supposed to be developed during the years children spend...
More »Bias exists in survey responses, but also in government's own telling - PC Mohanan
-The Indian Express The immediate cause for suspecting the genuineness of survey responses is the divergence in the estimates of households with access to toilets. Differences between survey estimates and comparable data from administrative sources are not surprising. The survey data are believed to present a more realistic view, especially when it relates to access to public goods and services. Generally, the distrust is more on administrative data from implementing agencies. While...
More »Citizenship Amendment Act -- the feaR factor -Varghese K George
-The Hindu ‘Indians have nothing to worry, but if you worry, you may not be Indian’ seems to be the govt.’s argument ‘Indians have nothing to fear,’ has been the refrain of the proponents of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). On the corollary move to implement a National Register of Citizens (NRC), they keep changing their positions — sometimes they say NRC and CAA have no link at all; other times they...
More »