• Key Facts

• Farmers' suicides

• Rural distress

• Debt Trap

• Unemployment

• Migration

• GENDER

• Displacement

• Right to Food  

• Right to Work (MG-NREGA)

• Social Audit

• Right to Information

• Right to Education

• Forest and Tribal Rights

• Policy/ Action so far

• Poverty and inequality

• Hunger Overview

• Malnutrition

• HDI Overview

• Education  

• Public Health

• Mid Day Meal Scheme (MDMS)

• PDS/ Ration/ Food Security  

• MDGs

• Water and Sanitation

• Impact on Agriculture

• Time Bomb Ticking

• Social Justice

• Access to Justice

• Human Rights

• Corruption

• General Insecurity

• Disaster & Relief

Privatising the ICDS?-Jayati Ghosh

and counselling". This is a strange strategy indeed in a situation where nearly three-quarters of the population have calorie intake below the minimum norm of 2,200 kilocalories (Kcal) a day in rural and 2,100 Kcal per day in urban areas, and where the worst effects are felt by women and small children. The current ICDS programme already has a provision for 10 per cent of AWCs being run by private parties, that is., non-governmental organis

Health policy under scanner

hcare services through tax revenues. The non-government Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA) has said the plans for free essential medicines and an expansion and strengthening of public health services in rural areas appear to be in jeopardy because of inadequate health budget allocations. In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the JSA has also expressed concern at what it says are indications from the Planning Commission about pursuing a model

Land return, eye on polls-Pranesh Sarkar

of 6 per cent of their price. "This will require Rs 2,500 crore to Rs 4,000 crore - not a small amount for a cash-strapped state. It's clear the ruling party wants to send out a message to rural voters," a senior government official said. The July rural polls in Bengal may be followed by elections to 13 civic bodies in November before the Lok Sabha polls become due next summer. The

Four walls and the cry for help -Vani S Kulkarni, Manoj K Pandey and Raghav Gaiha

g out alone was highest in BJP-ruled States and lowest in regional party-ruled States. Locational differences are striking. Slums show the highest incidence of all forms of violence, followed by rural and urban areas. Violence associated with neglect of domestic duties was over 44 per cent in slums, over 37 per cent in rural areas and about 27.50 per cent in urban areas. A similar pattern is observed f

Ramesh cut to size on red action plan -Yatish Yadav

-The New Indian Express   In a war of letters between rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh and Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth over ways to tackle the Naxalite menace, the minister has emerged the loser. In 2012, the minister had criticised the UPA's flagship programme-the Integrated Action Plan (IAP)-which has been designed to tackle Left Wing Extremism (LWE) through development projects. Last July, he had asked the Prime Mini

Urban PHCs to work from noon till night -Aarti Dhar

told The Hindu. For this, the NUHM would work in coordination with non-governmental and civil society organisations. The NUHM, approved recently by the Cabinet, will run parallel to the National rural Health Mission (NRHM). Reproductive and child health programmes apart, it will address communicable and non-communicable diseases, especially State-specific diseases such as sickle-cell and flourosis. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare s

'Many using MGNREGS labour for their land shifting to horticulture'-Sreelatha Menon

According to a study by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and non-governmental organisation (NGO) Sambodhini, 11 per cent of those who used labour under the Mahatma Gandhi National rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) for work on their fields recorded a shift from traditional agriculture to horticulture. The study covered 2,381 people across Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Prades

NREGA benefited marginal farmers, reveals survey

six states - Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh - by Sambodhi, a Delhi based NGO is in collaboration with the UNDP and is acknowledged by the ministry of rural development that runs NREGA. The study, officials said, was commissioned to assess the impact on assets following a decision to allow land development works on individual farms belonging to small and marginal farmers. Of the surveyed benef

Serious flaw in MGNREGA implementation in MP: Audit report

urchasing, the report by Accountant General (AG) office said. As per guidelines, a ratio of 60:40 has to be followed while spending money on labour and material under the Mahatma Gandhi National rural Employment Guarantee Act Scheme. From 2010 till March 2012, the State Government had spent about Rs 162 crore on purchase of material for the implementation of the scheme, it said. The report found that an extra amount of Rs 371.38 crore w

CAG talks about misappropriation of funds in MGNREGA scheme

-The Hindu Chennai: The Tamil Nadu story concerning the Mahatma Gandhi National rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) appears to be no different from some other States, when it comes to irregularities in payment of wages, even though the amount involved is much less here. The report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG), presented in the Assembly on Wednesday, talked of misappropriation of funds in three ways - inflating the