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Showing posts from January, 2019

Children enrolled in private schools up from 22 to 30% in 10 yrs, learning levels stagnate

In a clear indication that the Government of India and state governments have been refusing to encourage government schools, which should be their primary responsibility in the educational sector, the latest Annual Survey of Education Report, released by high-profile NGO Pratham, has regretted that, over the last one decade, “while the productivity of the government school system has declined overall, the effectiveness of the private schools has not changed as dramatically.”

Pity, film Accidental Prime Minister ignores book's 80% defence of Manmohan Singh: Sanjaya Baru

Sanjaya Baru Former media adviser to ex-PM Manmohan Singh, Sanjaya Baru, has claimed that 80 per cent of his book "The Accidental Prime Minister" constitutes "the best available defence in print, even as of now, of the Manmohan Singh prime ministership", regretting, it is a " pity" that the film based on it, starring Anupam Kher and Akshaye Khanna, ignores this huge portion.

India's "low" caste women live 15 years less than "upper" caste counterparts: Oxfam

In India, a so-called low-caste woman can expect to live almost 15 years less than a so-called upper-caste woman. Suggesting that this is an international phenomenon, a just-released Oxfam report says, Life expectancy in one of the poorest parts of London is six years less than it is in one of the capital’s richest neighbourhoods, just a few miles away. Life expectancy in the richest parts of Sao Paulo, Brazil, is 79 years. In one of the poorest areas of the city it is 54 years.

Delhiites force cancellation of public hearing for waste-to-energy plant in a densely-populated area

In what is being described as a victory in a big war against pollution in Delhi, people of the south-western district of Delhi have forced a scheduled public hearing for expanding a "waste-to-energy" power plant from 16 MW to 40 MW. The Delhi Pollution Control Board (DPCB) and the District Magistrate faced such a situation for the first time, says a civil society statement following the cancellation. The major reason for people from different societies, including Sukhdev Vihar, Jasola Vihar, Abul Fazal, Haji Colony, Gaffar Manzil, Shahin Bagh and other places was that it was being held in violation of the Environment Assessment Notification dated September 15, 2006, according to which it should have been held near the project site, but it was kept at quite a distance. Being implemented in an area where more than a million people live and there are several major educational institutions and hospitals, the project would cause pollution in the region, the civil society groups ap...

Only 10% villagers aware of rights of gram sabhas: Village elders' meet in Narmada valley told

A special conference of panches, sarpanches and representatives from villages of Narmada valley at Arjun Karaj, Badwani district, Madhya Pradesh, held under the auspices of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), regretted that only 10% of villagers were aware of the rights of gram sabhas. Those who participated at the meet included NBA leader Medha Patkar, senior advocate Anil Trivedi, Manvar MLA Dr Hiralal, and Badwani district panchayat president Manendra Patel.

19 Indian human rights defenders killed in 2018, as against just 2 in Pakistan: Report

A new report, “Front Line Defenders Global Analysis 2018”, has noted that as many as 19 human rights defenders (HRDs) were killed across India last year, which is the sixth highest among a group of 28 countries for which it has made an assessment. The highest number of HRDs killed was in Colombia, 126, followed by Mexico 48, Philippines 39, Guatemala 26, Brazil 23, and India 19.

Forward caste inequality-within "higher" than SC, ST, OBC, led to Jat, Patidar protests

A recent research paper, published the Paris School of Economics’ World Inequality Lab, suggests that the inequality within the forward caste (FC) group in India is the highest compared to what it is among scheduled castes (SC), scheduled tribes and other backward classes (OBC). The paper, authored by Nitin Kumar Bharti, points out that the inequality “within FC has increased and it is potentially one of the reasons behind uneasiness among certain FC groups in country and their demand for OBC status.”

Poor AMC allocation: Basic amenities, lacking, no basic amenities; slumdwellers 'forced to defecate in open'

Vijay Nehra Even as Ahmedabad has been declared “open defecation free plus” (ODF+) by the Narendra Modi government, which means the city has hygienic and usable public toilets, a grassroots community survey suggests that this is far from true in a large number of areas of the city. Results of the survey are part of a memorandum addressed to Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) commissioner Vijay Nehra, who  claimed  that “a third-party inspection was carried out” to prove how the city has become more hygienic to live in. The survey shows that in 100 societies of 26 different areas of Ahmedabad, people lack basic amenities. If some societies such as in Ambedkar Nagar and Indira Nagar in Nikol area, or in Boot Bhawani and Suryanagar in Vejalpur area, or the Bombay Hotel area, there are no household toilets or gutter lines, forcing people defecate in the open, in other places the gutter lines are either choked or are profusely leaking. Released to media by community leaders from...

GDP estimates for 2018-19: Agricultural growth rate in India to be minus (--) 0.1%, worst in 10 yrs

The State Bank of India (SBI) has estimated that agricultural growth would turn into the negative in the fiscal 2018-19. In its latest report by the SBI’s research desk, headed by Dr Soumya Kanti Ghosh, Group Chief Economic Adviser,  says  that agriculture and allied activities is likely to grow at 3.8% in FY19 as against previous year growth of 3.4%, but it would be “primarily due to growth in allied activities (livestock, forestry and fishing).” However, it adds, “The most striking fact is that agriculture deflator for FY19 at –0.1% is lowest in 10 years indicating continued distress (or low demand) in rural areas.” SBI’s GDP growth rates (year on year per cent) is at constant prices, with 2011-12 as the base year. The SBI’s GDP growth advance estimates for FY19 is “a conservative 7.2%, lower than RBI’s projection of 7.4%”, the report states, adding, “Manufacturing, electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services, construction are the major contributors to the over...

Coercion-induced 26% Hindi belt open defecation decline "unlikely" to last: Study

Note: pp stands for percentage points Sharply contesting the Government of India claim that “open defecation has been entirely or largely eliminated” in the Hindi belt, a recent study, “Changes in open defecation in rural north India: 2014-2018” has found that “between 42% to 57% of rural people over two years old defecate in the open” in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

Indian banks "hit poor, help corporates" by imposing penalty for non-maintenance of minimum balance in accounts

  In a sharply-worded statement, dozens of civil rights organizations and activists have taken strong exception to India's banks charging penalty for not maintaining a monthly average balance, saying it "directly affects the poor". Pointing out that the banks are doing it "because of their financial compulsions", it gives the example of how State Bank of India (SBI) is doing it despite its huge profits.

Mahabharata was about family property dispute, "justified" violence: British Lord

  Making an unusual statement, India-born British economist  Meghnad Desai , who is professor emeritus, London School of Economics and a Labour Party Lord has said that Mahabharata was about "property dispute in a family" on who would rule Braj. Desai's statement acquires significance, as he had been praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's style of governance till recently, when he  said  that "people are disappointed" with Modi and they feel, "somehow, the feeling is that 'acch din ab tak nahin aaye' (the promised good days have not come in yet)".

Story of a foot soldier of Gujarat riots coming from a vulnerable community, Chharas

He is one of the more prominent "foot soldiers" of the 2002 Gujarat riots. Suresh Jadeja, alias Langdo, alias Richard, is indeed a well-known name in the Naroda Patiya massacre case, in which 97 persons were killed on February 28, 2002, the first day of the riots that shook the nation. Ordinarily, such a person should have been subjected to sociological scrutiny. What have here is a keen journalistic account, with clear political-ideological overtone.