-PTI LUCKNOW: In a bid to improve its image, which was marred by the multi-crore NRHM scam, the Uttar Pradesh health department is set to launch a health guarantee scheme for children in the age group of 2-16 years. "The planning to launch the scheme is at final stages and we will be launching it soon. SP government is committed for the cause of poor and I am ensuring that all the...

Direct cash transfers or food coupons should be used by the government to provide services to the poor, says Farzana Afridi, Assistant Professor, Economics and Planning Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi. Afridi, who obtained her PhD in economics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and an MA in economics from the Delhi School of Economics, says that although the Mid Day Meal Programme is having a substantial effect, the...

-The Telegraph An NCERT survey has found children from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes lagging behind in education at the primary school level amid a national debate on reservation in promotions for them. The National Achievement Survey, conducted to evaluate the learning achievement of Class V students, found SC/ST students underperforming compared to general students (see chart). Over a lakh students from 6,602 schools in 27 states and four Union Territories were...

-The Hindu The draft law on acquisition strikes a balance between development and justice for those who will be displaced in the process India is a rapidly industrialising economy and society with intense demands for better infrastructure from its people. The last 20 years have seen a great acceleration in this process, with India becoming one of the world’s fastest growing economies. However, for those whose lands were acquired for these purposes...

-The Telegraph A government-appointed panel has warned against schoolchildren being promoted till Class VIII without any sort of testing or special coaching to cover their weaknesses, a trend now found in most state-run schools. The panel headed by National Advisory Council member N.C. Saxena, which reviewed the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, has found that most government elementary schools are not following the system of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) prescribed by the Right...