-The Hindu A levy on firms, resources from which are earmarked for vocational training, is what could help the country bridge the skill gap in its workforce. Financing technical vocational education and training (VET) is costlier than general education due to its technical nature. Pre-service training requires the installation of equipment and trained instructors to train youth. This raises the cost of training, and remains a factor preventing pre-service training from expanding...

-The Hindu We need to rethink social safety nets in India’s growing economy so that they can also focus on the accidents of life rather than solely on the accidents of birth. Sometimes the grand narratives of the Left and the Right do not seem to have any relationship with the lived experiences of ordinary Indians. For the past two decades, the Left has tried to expand social welfare programmes for the...

-The Times of India HYDERABAD: The state-run Gandhi Hospital, a premier 1,200-bed medical facility in the city, is under a cloud after 21 patients died on Friday and the medical staff blamed power outages for the deaths. Some doctors said electricity first tripped around 3pm and then continued to do so at regular intervals. Although there were four generators on standby, the hospital claimed they had developed snags and could not be...

-The Hindu India must convert its young population to a competitive advantage, and nutrition and health are foundational to that outcome. The “Global Nutrition Report 2016” once again demonstrates India’s slow overall progress in addressing chronic malnutrition, manifest in stunting (low weight for age), wasting (low weight for height), micronutrient deficiencies and over-weight. Our track record in reducing the proportion of undernourished children over the past decade has been modest at best,...

-The Times of INdia Lucknow: Over 56% infant deaths reported in UP take place within first 28 days of birth. The phenomenon contributes tremendously to state's high infant mortality rate. The number translates into death of 1.51 lakh newborn babies. As many as 56 lakh babies are born in UP each year. Of these, 27 neonates per 1,000 live births die before they are four-week-old. Of the total, 36% deaths are reported...