-The Times of India Almost 57 years after it was carved out by merging Telugu-speaking areas and cutting out Marathi and Kannada speaking areas, Andhra Pradesh is now on the carving board again - the Telangana region will now be partitioned off into a new state, induced by a long-standing agitation, but delivered by the political expediency of the Congress. Whatever be the complex electoral implications of this, the real question is...

-The Indian Express No magic pill solution or quick fix can make up for basic administrative deficiencies In a review of Jean Drèze and Amartya Sen's latest book in the Financial Times (July 12, 2013), historian Ramachandra Guha questions whether the Indian state is "up to the job of doing more to tackle poverty". Mainstream debates about the persistence of poverty and pervasive failures in public service delivery in India tend to...

-The United Nations The United Nations health agency today called for ensuring that women have accurate information and support regarding the importance of breastfeeding, after a new report found that only 1 in 5 countries fully implement international guidelines about the marketing of breast-milk substitutes. "Nearly all mothers are physically able to breastfeed and will do so if they have accurate information and support," said Carmen Casanovas, breastfeeding expert with the Department...

-Live Mint The mid-day scheme is underpinned by a rent-seeking chain that keeps all the major stakeholders satisfied The mid-day meal (MDM) tragedy in Chhapra once again focuses attention on the low-level equilibrium that our public systems are trapped in. Consider these facts. Apart from rice, which has to be collected from the local ration shop, the MDM programme allocates each primary and upper-primary child Rs3.11 and Rs4.65, respectively to purchase pulses,...

-The Business Standard Said his govt had introduced a lot of reforms and had worked on the ground for eight years before enforcing a legislation New Delhi: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on Tuesday said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government would need another 10 years to implement the National Food Security Ordinance. Singh, who was the chief guest at a symposium on food security here, said his government had introduced a lot...