The report presents a mixed picture. Over the past 25 years, there have been notable improvements in child well-being in the group of countries examined in this report: steady decline in child mortality, overall reduction in adolescent suicide and increase in school completion rates. But the last five years have …
Flat strips of lush, submerged grass rise in terraces from the courtyard of Sidwell Friends' new middle school in Washington like rice paddies in a mountainous Chinese village. Part of a man-made wetland connected to the school's water system, the plants filter liquid waste, just as real wetlands do with …
In 1997, the Government of Mexico introduced a conditional cash transfer (CCT) program called Programa de Education, Salud, Y Alimentacion (Progresa), providing assistance to about 300, 000 extremely poor households. The essential premise of a CCT program is a cash transfer to households, conditioned on their participation in health, nutrition, …
IT was a power dinner. But it was soon to become a power-hungry one. Early September, Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar hosted a dinner for Intel chairman Craig Barrett during his ninth visit to India. A few high-profile cabinet ministers like FM P. Chidambaram and aviation minister Praful Patel were …
This report describes and analyses human development in the State of Tripura and its constituent districts and blocks. Tripura is a State of three million persons located in the North East of India and surrounded on three sides by Bangladesh.
Pangulu Pahada owes a lot to Ramakanta Pradhan and his 60 students for its existence. The hill would have become a neglected barren mount if the headmaster and his flock from an upper primary school in remote Orissa had not decided to protect it, helping a 121-hectare forest on the …
One of the largest aluminium producers in the country with a market share of more than 30 per cent, Balco is poised to play a significant role in the context of globalisation. The company has achieved a dramatic surge in productivity and profit within a short span of five years …
We couldn't fathom why a friendly scientist should refuse an interview, even on e-mail. And instead want to write down answers and fax them back. Having heard from Jean Pierre Petit, the renowned French astrophysicist-artist, recently on a tour to India, we now know why. Excerpts from a 12-page fascimile …
What motivates more than 800 people from 101 countries around the world to meet at a World Environmental Education Congress? And how does one make the most of such an incredible gathering of people, cultures, thoughts and minds? What did people learn and was it worthwhile? These are just some …
Whether we view sustainable development as our greatest challenge or a subversive litany, every phase of education is now being urged to declare its support for education for sustainable development (ESD). In this paper, we explore the ideas behind ESD and, building on work by Foster and by Scott and …
cell phone Ban: In a ruling on May 7, 2007, the Supreme Court of the State of New York supported the department of education's (DOE's) ban on the use of cell phones in schools. Eight parents had sued the city calling the ban "irrational and unsafe'. They claimed it intruded …
All public expenditure meant for development of a community can be expected to have some benefits for children as well. However, in a country where children are clearly a disadvantaged section, there exists a strong case for identifying that part of the public expenditure specifically earmarked for addressing their needs. …
The commitment to provide free and compulsory education for all children up to fourteen years of age is enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Though successive national plans have recorded significant improvements, the final goal of providing quality education for all even after fifty years of planned development still eludes the …
India's children continue to face a huge backlog of deprivations. For instance, India in 2005 reported an IMR of 58 deaths per 1000 live births. In contrast, China reported in 2005 an IMR of 23 and Bangladesh of 54. Neonatal deaths that account for 65% of infant mortality remain exceptionally …
Nerve-jarring noise is an inextricable part of urban lives. Most of us seem to accept the high decibels of vehicular traffic, deafening car horns, and the bedlam wrought by loudspeakers without complaint. Rabindra Kumar Mallick is amongst the uncomplaining mass. But he has gone ahead and devised a method of …
Shorn of any big idea, Budget 2007 is an essay that tries to manage the exigencies of politics and the public outcry on inflation even as it attempts to balance the need for growth. It satisfies neither political wants nor economic needs. "I must caution that outlays do not necessarily …
This month, the history department at Middlebury College, a small private institution in New England, voted to ban students from citing Wikpedia in academic work. Other us academic institutes also forbid students from using Wikipedia as their central source. But a search of court decisions by the New York Times …
Vision-2021 is to make Delhi a global metropolis and a world-class city, where all the people would be engaged in productive work with a better quality of life, living in a sustainable environment. This will, amongst other things, necessitate planning and action to meet the challenge of population growth and …
The objective of this paper is to look at the financial and economic aspects of the NREGA. It will be studying the implications for the rural economy as a result of the minimum wage and employment instituted by the Act. Also, the greater bargaining power of the rural workforce and …
