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Raghuram Rajan, others: Right to Education 'unnecessary, disruptive' for low-cost private, government schools

In a surprising comment, a group of leading economists, who include former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghunath Rajan, has  said  that the Right to Education (RTE) law’s “input based” approach to education quality is “unlikely to succeed”. Pointing out that “extensive evidence” suggests most school inputs are “neither necessary nor sufficient for improving learning outcomes”, the economists say, “RTE has led to an unnecessary and disruptive closure of several low-cost private schools that parents were choosing of their own accord.” Noting that “in many cases, even government schools are in violation of these input-based norms”, the economists recommend “repealing all input-based mandates for schools under the RTE (for both public and private schools) and changing the approach to regulation of private schools based on transparency and disclosure as opposed to input-based mandates.”    The comment has been made in the widely-reported “An Economic Strategy for India...

Noteban: Harvard, Goldman Sachs scholars bemoan lack of "authentic" growth data

In a sharp observation, scholars of a recent high-profile study, "Cash and the Economy: Evidence from India's Demonetization", whose results have been widely reported , have bemoaned: That there is lack of authentic official data on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with the Government of India, forcing them to use “nightlights data”, a methodology usually adopted by top international scholars to assess socio-economic growth in highly underdeveloped countries of East Africa and parts of Asia, where no authentic ground level surveys are available to assess development.

Fading Hindutva? Changing times "impact" vulnerable participants in Gujarat riots

Has unease finally begun creeping into the majoritarian psyche, which got swayed under the powerful Hindutva wave that followed the 2002 Gujarat riots? It would seem so, if journalist and film-maker Revati Laul’s just released book, “The Anatomy of Hate”, is any indication. The book does not say so in so many words, yet suggests that disconcerting traits for the Sangh Parivar have even sneaked into those who directly or indirectly participated in the violence which engulfed the state 16 years ago.

Cow vigilantes in Ahmedabad 'attack' 2 persons taking buffaloes in truck, stab 1

 In what is being called a clear case of mob lynching, saffron vigilantes have allegedly attacked two persons belonging to a minority community transporting eight buffaloes in Gujarat. The incident happened between 1 and 2 am when they were taking the animals from Deesa in Palanpur district in North Gujarat to Bharuch in South Gujarat. The attack, said a media alert by Minority Coordination Committee (MCC) convener Mujahid Nafees, took place when the vehicle, a truck, in which they were taking the buffaloes passed through Ahmedabad's Ramol police station area. "They were attacked by four persons riding on two motorcycles", Nafees said, adding, " One of them, Zaheer, was attacked with a knife. Badly injured, he is currently taking treatment in Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad." The second person, Mustafa, Zaheer's brother, saved his life by hiding in a police car parked nearby. MCC activists Jameela Khan and Danish Khan helped the victims at the Civil Hospital. An  ...

Modi's PRO, who served previous Congress, BJP CMs in Gujarat with "equal" competence

Jagdish Thakkar in PM office. Left: Kishore Anjaria, a previous colleague A public relations officer (PRO), even as maintaining anonymity, is supposed to “manage” reputation of his or her client, reflecting the client’s views in order to influence opinion and behaviour. A PRO is also known to use, the world over, media and communication to build, maintain, manage and plan publicity strategies and campaigns, even as dealing with enquiries from the public, particularly media, organising promotional events such as press conferences, open days, exhibitions, tours and visits. A PRO is also supposed to final touches to press statements for his or client.

India's CO2 emissions projected to grow 6.3% in 2018, highest in the world: Study

An international interdisciplinary journal, “Earth System Science Data (ESSD)”, has raised the alarm that global fossil CO2 emissions in India grew at a rate of +5.2% per year on an average during the last one decade (2008-17), and are expected to grow even higher in 2018. Suggesting that this growth is higher than China’s CO2 emissions, an increase of +3.0%, an article in the journal says, while the global average for the decade was 1.5 % per year, the emissions decreased in the European Union (EU) countries by −1.8%.

Church priest tries to stall screening of KP Sasi's film on atrocities on Christians

  KP Sasi, a Bengaluru-based human rights activist, writer, cartoonist and film maker, has regretted that a Christian priest tried to stall the screening of their documentary, `Voices from the Ruins' in a Church in Pune, even though the film, according to him, was on the largest attack on the Christian community during the last few decades. In an email alert, circulated through Dalit Media Watch, Sasi says, "I did not have much space to talk. That was fine. The pastor who organised the screening spent more than one hour shouting `Hallelujah' on top of his voice. And I was sitting behind the crowd wondering why the hell did I make this film. The film was on the persecution of Christians in India. But I was a total failure in communicating." Sasi continues, "This idiot was not interested in discussing the real issue. And when I came out, a couple of youngsters came to discuss with me. At that time, the same pastor came and piled on to me. His problem was that I was...

Bullet train project ignores environmental, social impact: Gujarat environmentalists tell JICA

Prajapati with JICA officials Gujarat’s top environmentalists, belonging to the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti (PSS), Vadodara, in a representation before the main funders of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project, Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Surat, where they were called for a meeting, have said that the bullet train project violates JICA guidelines on environmental and social impacts of the project.

RBI survey: Consumer confidence on jobs, economic situation deteriorates

Consumer Confidence Indices Results of the Consumer Confidence Survey (CCS), carried out by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for November 2018, suggest that growing pessimism on general economic situation and employment scenario. Conducted in 13 major cities – Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Patna and Thiruvananthapuram - RBI said, "Future expectations index (FEI) also moderated due to lower optimism on the employment scenario and household spending." Based on 5,326 responses on households’ perceptions and expectations on the general economic situation, the employment scenario, the overall price situation and their own income and spending, the survey results show, to quote RBI, that the current situation index (CSI) "declined further in November 2018 in a phase that commenced in November 2016, on the back of growing pessimism on the general economic situation and the employment scenario as also some cutb...

Rejoinder: Inescapable to have Central Water Commission as strong technical body in India

I am reproducing below a rejoinder by BN Navalawala, former secretary to the Government of India, to my article (December 5, 2018), "Modi govt 'shelves' water reforms report, shows 'no interest' in its recommendations", where I quote Dr Mihir Shah, former member, Planning Commission: *** A committee was constituted under the Chairmanship of Dr. Mihir Shah, Former Member, Planning Commission, for restructuring of Central Water Commission (CWC) and Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) for optimal development of water resources in the country in the backdrop of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).

India's lag in doubling farm income vis-a-vis China, South-East Asia? Go authoritarian!

This should sound some music to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his supporters: More than four years after he took over reins of power, the view appeared to have strong at an international scholars’ conference, held in Anand, Gujarat, that Modi should set aside democratic ways to achieve his declared intention to double farmers’ incomes, and instead adopt the type of means adopted by China to attain higher earnings.

Modi govt "shelves" water reforms report, shows "no interest" in its recommendations

Mihir Shah Has the Government of India shelved the Mihir Shah committee report , which two years ago had recommended setting up an overarching National Water Commission (NWC) in order to build partnerships with independent experts and civil society groups for participatory management of water resources? It would seem so, if committee members and government officials participating in an international conference in Anand, Gujarat, are to be believed. Organized by the high-profile Colombo-based International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in alliance with the Tata Water Policy Programme, and begun at the sprawling campus of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) campus in Anand, the three day conference is being held to discuss “innovations in water, land, energy and ecosystems” in order to build “climate resilience for doubling farmers’ incomes.” Addressing media, Himanshu Kulkarni, one of the members of the Mihir Shah committee, which was appointed by the Narendra Modi governmen...

Forced child labour rampant in Uttar Pradesh sugarcane fields: Oxfam study

  A 14-year-old boy and his older brother were hired by an agent from Bihar under the pretext of getting them a job in a shoe factory in Uttar Pradesh. The agent brought with him a dozen-odd to Uttar Pradesh under the pretext of offering work to them in a factory. Only upon arrival in Muzaffarnagar, the boys were told that they would be working in a sugarcane field.

18-month-old pellet gun victim Hiba: Human rights defenders seek NHRC intervention

Human rights defenders Syed Mujtaba Hussian and Mirza Jahanzeb Beg have filed a case with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) regarding an 18-month-old pellet gun victim Hiba Nisar. She was with her mother inside their house at Kapran village in south Kashmir when pellets hit the infant in her right eye.

Govt of India rejects RTI plea on 26/11 terror attack report placed in M'rashtra assembly

Is the Government of India becoming increasingly unenthusiastic towards the Right to Information (RTI) Act? It would seem so, if a recent RTI reply to a plea filed by Ventatesh Nayak of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), Delhi, is any guide.

Foreign funding: Gujarat's RSS-controlled NGO among 1,775 warned of 'appropriate action'

 A top RSS-controlled NGO, operating from the Dr Hedgewar Bhawan, Kankaria, Ahmedabad, is one of the organizations which receives foreign funds but has failed to file its Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) return, as required by the Government of India. It is one of the 1,775 NGOs across India, of which 60 are from Gujarat, which has been issues a show cause notice asking its managers as to "why appropriate action" under Sections 13 and 14 of the FCRA "may not be initiated" against it within a fortnight of the notice, which was issued on November 16. The NGO, Sewa Bharti, operates from Gujarat's RSS headquarters, and has not filed its returns, as required, electronically, for the year 2013-14, the notice, carrying the list of all the NGO "defaulters", shows.

80% school children are beaten up, 91% parents "approve" of it: Report

  A recent report, prepared by researchers with the civil rights group, Agrasar, has revealed that of the 521 children from marginalized groups surveyed in Gurugram, Haryana, 80% said they are punished at school. Based on data collected from semi-urban communities in Gurugram, the report’s conclusions also take into account survey 100 parents, personal interviews with 26 children, three focus group discussions and one seasonal calendar exercise with 29 parents.

Declare chemical emergency in Gujarat's vegetable basket: Environmentalists demand

In a letter two senior environmentalists of Gujarat, Rohit Prajapati and Krishna Kant, have asked above a dozen senior Government of India and Government of Gujarat officials, to declare chemical emergency in the Vadodara district, pointing out that the Effluent Channel Project (ECP) of Vadodara, which is in force along 24 villages' prime agricultural land, known as the Vegetable Basket of Gujarat, is polluting land next to the 55.6 km long effluent channel.

Narmada for irrigation? Gujarat polls led BJP rulers to postpone announcement of water scarcity: Top CM aide

  Sharply reacting to Counterview story (click  HERE ), which said, quoting Gujarat government sources, that the state's farmers will not be provided with Narmada waters this summer because the waters would diverted to Madhya Pradesh agricultural fields in view of the elections there this year, a top aide of Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani has said, "There is real shortage, and this the only reason why Gujarat farmers wouldn't be able to get waters."

Groundwater of residential complexes in Ankaleshwar turns yellow: NGO demands action

A South Gujarat-based environmental NGO, Prakruti Suraksha Mandal (PSM), has raised the alarm that a large number of illegal borewells have come up in and around industrial estates of Bharuch district, sharply reducing groundwater levels and polluting the water. PSM director Salim Patel, in a letter to senior officials of the Central Groundwater Authority (CGA), Government of India, and Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), has said that at several places industrial units have been found to be illegally releasing untreated water underground. And, even after repeated complaints, GPCB has not taken any action against industrial units. Patel said, the information it received under the Right to Information (RTI) Act revealed that just 67 units of the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) estate in Ankaleshwar have taken permission from the authorities for constructing borewells.  Clearly, there are many more units which have constructed borewells illegally, he asserts, ad...

Call to 'enjoy' pilgrimage of Sabarmati beyond Ahmedabad, where river water turns black

Sabarmati at Vautha Nagrik Sashaktikaran Manch (NSM), a Gujarat-based civil rights organization, has called upon the state's citizens to join in a "unique yatra" along the river Sabarmati, starting in Ahmedabad and ending off the Gulf of Khambhat, where the river is supposed to merge with the sea. Pointing out that in Hindu culture, rivers are equated with Mother Goddess, NSM convener Jatin Seth says, it will be a "special event of pilgrimage", because, just like Ganga, Sarbarmati possesses "special properties." "Starting at Giaspur, one can see how industries are releasing chemicals in Sabarmati, and you get a Thumbs-Up like colour of the water, and if you drink it, you are sure to be at least affected by cancer, and this way would enable you to book your ticket in the paradise. The river has a special smell, too, emanating from a black cocktail-type colour", says Seth in a statement. A village next to Sabarmati river Insisting that this wou...

NRC-related suicides in Assam reach 33: Two more take their lives after wives declared foreigner

Two more persons have committed suicide in Assam, reportedly on being harassed and depressed on being declared foreigners, taking the total National Register of Citizens (NRC)-related suicides to 33, a civil rights group claimed. Samsul Hoque (46) and Abdul Jalil (35) took their lives after they found that the names of their wives did not appear in the final draft NRC, which was published on July 30. The incidents took place in Bagariguri under Sorbhog police station in Barpeta district of Assam. Samsul Hoque, who committed suicide on November 14, was a daily wage agricultural worker. His family members and neighbours residents allege that he was frustrated, as the name of his wife Maleka Khatun had not appeared in the final draft. Said Shajahan Ali Ahmed, general secretary of the NGO Association for Protection of Indian Citizenship Rights, "Due to the rude behaviour of the officials involved in the NRC process and the absence of proper counselling, Samsul Hoque was pushed or comp...

Chancellor, dubbed Modi choice, boycotts Hyderabad Urdu varsity convention, says it's a den of corruption

Recently-appointed chancellor, Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU), Hyderabad, Firoz Bakht Ahmed, on the eve of the university’s 7th Convention, in a letter to the registrar said he was boycotting the function, because MANUU has turned into “a den of corruption and unabated cases of sexual abuse of girl student.”

Preventing childhood deaths: India performs worse than Bangladesh, "equals" Pakistan

  A just-released study, “The Pneumonia and Diarrhea Progress Report 2018”, prepared by the International Vaccine Access Centre (IVAC) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, has identified India among 15 other countries which are still far off the mark in achieving the targets of the Global Action Plan for the Prevention of Pneumonia and Diarrhea (GAPPD).

Vedanta is out but corporate loot continues in Odisha: Local activists tell NAPM yatra

Lok Shakti Abhiyan leader Prafulla Samantara, winner of the Goldman Environmental (also known as Green Nobel) Prize in 2017, has regretted that though Sundergarh in Odisha, like other forest areas, is a fifth schedule area, where Forest Rights Act (FRA) and Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) is applicable, but these laws are being “outrightly violated to facilitate corporate loot.”

Andhra RTI users complain: State Information Commission not functioning for 18 months

Anjali Bharadwaj A public hearing in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on the Right to Information (RTI) Act, saw participants from across the state highlight problems faced by people, as the state information commission (SIC) is not functional for the last 18 months. Co-organised by the United Forum for RTI, Andhra Pradesh, and the National Campaign for Peoples' Right to Information (NCPRI), those who heard people's testimonies included EAS Sarma, former IAS officer, Anjali Bhardwaj, co-convener, NCPRI, and B Ramakrishna Raju, national convenor, National Alliance for Peoples' Movements (NAPM). After the bifurcation of the state of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, the SIC of Andhra Pradesh continued to function as the information commission for both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The commission became defunct in May 2017 after the serving informational commissioners retired. Since then, the commission has been non-functional, it was pointed out. RTI activists, meanwhile, have filed cas...

Discriminatory to take back cases against Patidar quota agitators: Dalit rights body

The Gyati Nirmulan Samiti (GMS), a grassroots Dalit rights organization of Gujarat, has strongly protested against the manner in which the state government has been allegedly seeking to take back cases against those belonging to non-Dalit and non-Adivasi individuals. Asserting that this is being done on a mass scale, GMS said, this is "discriminatory", and is being done to please the dominant caste people. "No cases registered against Dalits and Adivasis are being taken back", said GMS convener Sanjay Parmar in a letter submitted to KA Punj, who heads an inquiry commission the state government set up under the chairmanship of retired High Court judge KA Punj said, "This is being done purely for political reasons." The letter has also been signed by GMS co-convener Rajesh Solanki, a Dalit rights advocate. In a reported bid to placate the Patidar community, the Gujarat government last year  announced  setting up of the commission of inquiry headed under Punj...

Forced displacement, starvation deaths, industrial pollution "rampant" in Jharkhand

After successfully completing two-phases, traversing through 11 states, top civil rights network National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM)-sponsored Samvidhan Samman Yatra began its third phase this week from Jharkhand. Travelling through Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, it will culminate in Delhi on December 10, International Human Rights Day.

10 Indian workers die in Gulf nations per day, for each $1 billion remitted 117 deaths occur

A recent Right to Information (RTI) intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian workers died in in six Gulf countries, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day.

At 33%, India's gender gap in mobile phone usage is fourth highest in world

A just-released Harvard Kennedy School study has estimated that, today in India, 71% of men use mobile phones, as against 38% of women, pointing out that India, along with Pakistan and Bangladesh, are “clear outliers among countries of similar levels of development”, exhibiting “some of the world’s highest gender gaps in access to technology.”

Declared foreigner, Dalit Hindu lies handcuffed in Assam civil hospital, 'battling' for life

In a disturbing revelation, Ratan Chandra Biswas, a Dalit Hindu, declared a "foreigner" by the National Register of Citizens, is lying handcuffed in Assam’s Goalpara Civil Hospital. Bringing this to light, a human rights site, Sabrang India,  reports , he has been found “battling for his life, emaciated and shivering”, pointing out, “His condition is a bitter testimony to the ghastly conditions in Assam 's six detention camps, where over 2,000 persons are estimated to be have been incarcerated.”

As 30 million hectares India's cultivable land goes saline, activists demand ecological, income security for farmers

Kirankumar Vissa, Kavitha Kuruganti About 13 per cent of India’s 159.7 million hectares cultivable land has gone saline over the last three decades, mainly due to the use of ecologically “unsustainable” agricultural practices promoted by India’s Central and state governments and adopted by farmers. Revealing this, Kirankumar Vissa of the Rytha Swarajya Vedika, working in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, told Counterview on the sidelines of the fourth Kisan Swaraj Sammelan, which ended on Sunday at Gujarat Vidyapeeth, yet another problem India’s agriculturists are against because of the climate change is desertification. “In Anandpur district of Andhra Pradesh and Mehboobnagar district of Telengana, where we are working, we already witness a huge fertility soil loss because of salinity and desertification”, Vissa, who is national co-convener of the ASHA-Kisan Swaraj Alliance, said, insisting on the need to adopt ecologically sensitive policies as a way out of this grave situation. “A large...

India's changed poverty estimates "temper confidence", would reclassify 50 million from poor to not poor

India's poverty estimates using separate methods While the Indian authorities are basking in happiness over the World Bank, in a recent report, showing that India has jumped 23 places to the 77th position in ‘ease of doing business’, another Bank  report , “Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2018: Piecing Together the Poverty Puzzle”, released last month, has found “important measurement issues” that “temper confidence” in India’s poverty estimates.

'Rampant' land acquisition for polluted industries in Caddalore, Tamil Nadu

The National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM)-sponsored Samvidhan Bachao Andolan, on reaching Tamil Nadu, found that in Cuddalore district, chemical industries have adversely affected about 50 villages. The yatra participants, who included senior social activists Prafulla Samantara, Sandeep Pandey, Gabriele Dietrich, Arundhati Dhuru, Ashish Ranjan, and Meera Sanghamitra, were told that land acquisition for industries is carried out by SIPCOT (State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamilnadu Ltd). A major chunk of land is being acquired in the name of SIMA (South Indian Millers Association), which has acquired about 250 acres of land. However, their requirement is more than 400 acres. Local leaders said, Caddalore is already under severe pollution and it is also ranked 3rd in the Comprehensive Environment Pollution Index (CEPI), which is a study done for understanding the extent of pollution by Central Pollution Control Board. The other two top polluted industrial estates are fr...

J&K's Jamaat-e-Islami "misleading" educated youth into militancy, regrets Islamic site

A top Islamic site, claiming to map agenda for the 21st century, has taken strong exception to the Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir (JIJ&K), a cadre-based religio-political organisation in J&K, likening Indian administration as “Pharaoh’s era” in Kashmir. Distinct from the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, JIJ&K in a statement said: “Indian forces have devised a sinister plan of genocide of Kashmiri youth on the same pattern the Pharaoh of Egypt had once ordered to kill the male infants of Bani-Israel in Egypt.”

Mevani threatens Muslim bodies with boycott, says they must first solve Gujarat riot victims' housing issues

  In a little known development, Gujarat's Dalit face Jignesh Mevani has threatened Muslim organizations, which have claimed to have "resettled" thousands of 2002 riot victims, that he would boycott meetings called by them anywhere in India. Mevani's threat comes close on the heels of complaints by tens of riot victims that they are sought to be evicted by the very same organizations that had allowed them to settle down on their land in the aftermath of the riots.

"Coercive" land acquisition on in Andhra Pradesh to build Singapore-type state capital

The civil society network National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM)-sponsored Dandi-to-Delhi Samvidhan Samman Yatra, currently in its second phase, reached the Amravati region, the proposed capital city of Andhra Pradesh, where it was told that the whole vision of making a capital city by chief minister Chandrababu Naidu has “devastated the agriculture in more than 29 villages in the name of development.”

Vadodara redevelopment "polluting" river Vishwamitri's environs

Several senior environmentalists and academics of Vadodara have written an open letter to the Municipal Commissioner, Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC), asking the administration to take immediate steps to “immediately stop demolition, tree felling and clearing of vegetation, dumping of debris, discharge of untreated sewage, dredging, digging, filling, leveling, construction, etc. along the city’s Vishwamitri river and its environs.”

BJP begins showing signs of unease as Gujarat's non-party OBC, Patel, Dalit leaders move "closer" to Congress

Alpesh Thakor, Jignesh Mevani, Hardik Patel As the Gujarat state assembly elections draw nearer, all eyes are set on whether the BJP, which won 47.9% of votes in the 2012 polls as against the Congress’ 38.9%, would be able to successfully keep intact this huge 9% gap in order to again resoundingly “win” a state for another five years, which is ruled by the party for the last more than two decades.

An elite Kutir set up by Modi far from the "madding" crowd: This Gandhi museum is formal, unapproachable

The Kutir: A cottage? Have you ever heard of a Gandhi museum, sough to be projected as the “largest” on the Mahatma, yet totally inaccessible, in sharp contrast to Ahmedabad’s humble, approachable and unassuming Gandhi Ashram on the banks of Sabarmati, set up by the Mahatma during the heydays of the freedom movement? It exists about 30 kilometres away, its idea was conceived by none other than a person who has today become even more inaccessible than he ever was: Narendra Modi, India's Prime Minister.

Only Gandhi "engaged" with untouchability, not Tagore, Nehru, Patel, Aurobindo or Jinnah: Senior expert

By Our Representative Senior Gandhi expert Tridip Suhrud feels that “among the many things we have chosen to forget about Gandhi is his lifelong work with leather and his desire to shod every feet with leather chappals.” Recalling that this “attraction” and “fondness” for leather began South Africa, he regrets, instead, “we would prefer Gandhi the spinner of fine, ‘pure’ yarn.”

44% of those employed in organized manufacturing on contract: Reason for slow 1.7% per annum wage rise

Even as claiming that between 2000 and 2015, real wages in India grew in every sector, including in agriculture and in unorganised manufacturing and services, at the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of roughly 3 per cent, a recent study finds a variation across sectors: Thus, from 2010 to 2015, real wages grew faster, at a CAGR of 4 per cent for unorganised manufacturing, 5 per cent for unorganised services, and 7 per cent for agriculture.

Women's suicide rate in Gujarat, two other states rises, as India's goes down by 23%: Wither UN's SDG targets?

  In an important revelation, a recent study in one of the world’s most renowned health research journals, “Lancet”, has found that “model” Gujarat is one of the three states where the Suicide Death Rate (SDR) among women has gone up. The other two major states, whose women’s SDR has shown an upward trend during the 26-years study – 1990 to 2016 – period are Bihar and Rajasthan.

Most of forest land titles given in Odisha are "not verified on the ground", may lead to serious conflicts in future

Thousands of adivasis and forest dwellers from across Odisha, mostly from tribal regions, marched in a protest rally on September 28 under the banner of Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), Odisha, at Lower PMG, Bhubaneswar, raising concern over “anti-tribal” and “anti-forest dweller” laws like Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016 (commonly known as CAMPA) and Draft National Forest Policies 2018.

Just 12% Gujarat households say Modi govt "committed" to fighting corruption, national average 31%: Survey

  A 13-state survey carried out a Delhi-based non-profit organization, CMS India, has found that in “model” Gujarat’s just about 12% households households feel that the Narendra Modi government is “committed” towards reducing corruption, which is the lowest of all states, with the sole exception of Andhra Pradesh, where just about 2% of feel that way.

17 lakh Jharkhand elderly, widows, differently abled do not receive pension: Public hearing told, aadhaar is a hurdle

Hundreds of elderly, widows, single women and differently-abled persons from different districts of Jharkhand gathered near the Raj Bhavan in Ranchi for a public hearing organized by the Jharkhand Right to Food Campaign and Pension Parishad demanding the right to universal social security pensions ahead of World Elderly Day on October 1.

Child marriages in India down by 20%, weddings delayed by 2.3 years where women are panchayat chiefs: Report

A just-published paper, “Political role models and child marriage in India”, has concluded that the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments, enacted in 1993, which stipulate reservation of pradhans’ positions in one-third of districts by rotation, has led to a situation where the “likelihood of child marriage decreases by 20 percentage points, and age at marriage increases by 2.3 years”, even as delaying the “gauna ceremony is delayed by 1.6 years.”

Women earn Rs 18 per hour in India, half of what men do, delay in marriage won't help increase earnings: Study

  A recent research paper, “The impact of women’s age at marriage on own and spousal labor market outcomes in India: causation or selection?” has said that even though women earn nearly half of what men earn, a delay in marriage, at least in India, has “no significant impact” on their earnings.

Universal health coverage in China, Brazil, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Thailand, OECD "much larger" than Modicare

Sharply contesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim that the  recently-launched  public health insurance scheme, Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), dubbed Modicare, is the world’s largest, renowned development economist Jean Drèze notes, PMJAY is nowhere comparable to “China’s health care system, with its universal coverage”, pointing out, “In per-capita terms, public expenditure on health in China is about five times higher than in India.”