The death of more than 200 tribal children in Palghar this year once again highlights the deep-rooted problem of malnutrition among children, especially the tribal ones. Most tribal children go to ashram schools – residential schools opened in tribal-dominated regions by the state and the ministry of tribal affairs, for providing education and free meals to kids. These schools are sup
In April, former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan launched united payment interface (UPI), a payment technology product by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an umbrella organisation for all retail payment system in the country. UPI is a mobile interface that has a unique ‘push and pull’ feature for receiving and making payments using smartphones, thro
India’s leading water expert and president of the South Asia Consortium for Interdisciplinary Water Resources Studies, S Janakarajan, wonders why Chennai, a city that receives 1,250 mm rainfall, is called a thirsty city and goes on to explain to Shivani Chaturvedi what went wrong among the southern states that led to a water-war like situation. But, he warns that such a scenario
Is the way MCI being run the only problem or the issue is about its rules, regulations and mandate? It was both. There were structural problems in MCI’s composition in that there was an inherent conflict of interest when the regulators were elected from amongst those who they were supposed to regulate. It became an exclusive domain of
The political career of home minister Rajnath Singh’s elder son, Pankaj Singh, has not been free of controversies. It is alleged that his father’s influence has helped him rise through the ranks of BJP. In conversation with Governance Now, Singh talks about dynasty politics, his political ambitions and the prospects of BJP in the upcoming UP assembly elections. &n
Tamil filmmaker GNR Kumaravelan was nominated for Filmfare award for the best Tamil director for his art film Haridas in 2013. The film, based on the story of an autistic child, received several positive reviews. Kumaravelan is the son of filmmaker GN Rangarajan. He made his directorial debut in 2009. Earlier he had worked as assistant director with Balanathan Benjamin Mahendran, popularly
For the first time, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have been included by the government in the draft national health policy, 2015. However, efforts to battle this threat remains largely shapeless and lacks monitoring of clinical care. As per recent reports by the ministry of health and family welfare, NCDs contribute to 53 percent of the total disease burden in the country, resulting in 6
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) general secretary Ravi Kumar spoke to Shivani Chaturvedi on the issue of discrimination against dalits in Tamil Nadu. In which parts of Tamil Nadu are dalits facing more discrimination? There are 36,500 temples and mutts under the control of Hindu religious and charitable endowments (HR&CE) departme
Why is the national commission for women weak? Is it because its mandate is unclear? I don’t know why there is a fallacy about the Act being weak. There are sections in the mandate which have not been put to ideal use. I think we have not examined our mandate to the extent it can be stretched. NCW is a statutory organisation, so a lot lies in the int
Hardeep Singh Puri, one of India’s ablest and most outstanding diplomats, has served as India’s representative to the UN. His first UN posting came in 1981 when as first secretary he was a member of India’s delegation to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Thereafter, he served as ambassador and India’s permanent representative (PR) to the UN in Geneva
HLL Infra Tech Services Limited (HITES), a wholly owned subsidiary of public sector firm HLL Lifecare Limited (HLL), has recently secured its first global contract to offer consultancy services for the construction of two hospitals in the Republic of Guinea. The company is spearheading experiments to find the best suited model for healthcare infrastructure for rural India. SN Sathu
Odisha’s largest district, Mayurbhanj, is set to be free from child labour very soon. District magistrate Rajesh Prabhakar Patil, an IAS officer of 2005 batch, talked to Taru Bhatia about how the ‘Mu Bi Padhibi’ campaign has been instrumental in fighting child labour. How was the ‘Mu Bi Padhibi’ campaign initiated in your district?
What do the income disclosure or amnesty schemes reflect on the government? What it suggests is that the government under the normal schemes is not able to take care of tax evasion. It has tried various schemes like the voluntary disclosure scheme in the past but nothing much has been achieved. They cannot come up with voluntary disclosure schemes anymore because
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has been questioned by both the opposition and the judiciary for his alleged comments which accuse the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh for Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination. Mridula Mukherjee, author of RSS, School Texts and the Murder of Mahatma Gandhi: The Hindu Communal Project, provides a nuanced view on the subject. Mukherjee, also a former director
How is the response to the IDS? The response has been good. A number of declarations have come and there have been a large number of inquiries too. How many declarations have been received so far? Since the IDS data is classified we cannot reveal details. How much undisclosed income do you exp
Ola Suleiman is a Syrian from Homs who currently works as communications officer at a non-profit called Mayday Rescue, a disaster-relief NGO in Turkey with offices in Jordan and Netherlands. Suleiman’s participation in the Syrian revolution began in April 2011 when she took part in peaceful demonstrations. She escaped the country in November 2013 since she feared arrest by the Bashar
Now that the SC has given the judgment for returning the land of the farmers in Singur, does this guarantee similar rulings for farmers protesting against acquisition of land in other parts of the country? There are no such guarantees. Different benches are gi
The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016, which aims to stop commercial surrogacy, was approved by the cabinet last month. However, the bill has come up with its own set of restrictions. Single parents, gays and live-in partners cannot have a surrogate child. Only couples who have been married for
Playwright, writer and director Mahesh Dattani has penned several plays such as Final Solutions, Dance Like a Man, Bravely Fought the Queen, On a Muggy Night in Mumbai, Tara, and Thirty Days in September. He is the first playwright in English to receive the Sahitya Akademi award. After his first play, Where There’s a Will, Dattani, then a copywriter in an advertising firm, began to co
The union government in May partnered with UNDP India and launched Namami Gange, a massive rural sanitation and river cleaning initiative. Jaco Cilliers, country director, UNDP India, talks to Swati Chandra about the multidimensional approach of the programme that aims to
