-Rediff.com 1. Kerala The Human Development Index in the country rose by 21 per cent, according to a report which cautions that health, nutrition and sanitation remain the key challenges for India. India Human Development Report 2011, prepared by Institute of Applied Manpower Research, placed Kerala on top of the index for achieving highest literacy rate, quality health services and consumption expenditure of people. 2. Delhi Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Goa were placed at...

-The Business Standard   A day before the National Development Council is scheduled to meet and possibly debate on the poverty line and the Food Security Bill, the second India Human Development Report -2011 has said India progressed well in social development front, with higher enrollment rates in education, and a shift towards social inclusion of marginalised communities and minorities. The report, by the Institute of Applied Manpower Research, an autonomous body under...

-The Hindu   Signalling an end to the practice in rural Maharashtra of naming a girl child Nakusha (unwanted), especially if the family was expecting the birth of a boy, the authorities will “rename” 266 such girls as Aishwarya (wealth) on Saturday. “The Government has identified 266 girls named Nakusha in Satara district and organised a renaming ceremony tomorrow [On Saturday],” Satara District Collector N. Ramaswami told PTI over telephone. The function has been...

-The Telegraph   Bengal education minister Bratya Basu today said the state government would next month notify rules to implement the right to education act, a requirement for central assistance to set up elementary Schools. Basu, who was here for a conference of state education ministers on the one-and-a-half-year-old law, said the rules were “almost ready”. “We will notify the rules by November. Then we will demand the additional grants that we have not...

-The Times of India   HRD minister Kapil Sibal on Wednesday expressed concern about the failure of big states in implementing the Right to Education Act. He was speaking at the state education ministers' conference on chalking out a community mobilization programme for RTE. "It will be a historic failure, if we have passed the Act but not implemented." Sibal said. So far, 20 states have notified RTE rules. However, big states like...