In the week leading up to the National Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, which was observed on 29 October, Caritas India observed Awareness Week on Disaster Preparedness and Reduction. The organisation – with about five decades of experience in emergency aid, reconstruction and natural-resource management – reached out to over 95,000 people on Facebook to…
India is one of the 10 countries in the world with the largest survival divide between wealthy and poor urban children. It figures in this list with Rwanda, Cambodia, Kenya, Vietnam, Peru, Madagascar, Ghana, Bangladesh and Nigeria. India has also scored poorly in the Mother’s Index Rank, standing at 140 out of 179 countries. The…
Every year, lack of political will and funding for crisis kills over three lakh infants within a day (24 hours) of being born in India, says a recently released report State of the World’s Mothers. The crux of this 14th annual report by Save the Children is that there is nothing that is not avertable,…
‘The day is not far off when India will be known the world over for this important step towards eradication of hunger, malnutrition and resultant poverty,’ asserted Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Professor KV Thomas with regard to the National Food Security Bill. Expressing hope that the National Food Security bill would be…
Accepting that ‘child marriages continue to take place at some places in Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh,’ and that ‘it is also prevalent in West Bengal,’ Women and Child Development Minister of Krishna Tirath has told the Rajya Sabha that a national action plan is being prepared to prevent child marriages. As per the National…
The Centre has issued guidelines requiring state governments to incorporate plans for water conservation and sewage disposal in the master plans for cities before any projects are sanctioned. Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath said that in the next phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), sustainable cities would be encouraged. …
Foreign contribution of nearly Rs 40,000 crore has been received by 77,000 NGOs across the country in four years beginning 2005-06. During financial year 2005-06, altogether 18,650 NGOs received Rs 7,889.12 crore, while 19,462 NGOs received Rs 11,111.12 crore in 2006-07, Minister of State for Home Mullappally Ramachandran confirmed in Rajya Sabha today. Rs 9,723.96…
As Anna Hazare’s fast entered its eighth day, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wrote to him, urging to end the stir. Singh promised that his views on the Lokpal bill would be considered. Here is the exact text of the letter: ‘Over the last few days, I have watched with increasing concern the state of your…
Aimed at setting up an anti-corruption watchdog, the much debated Lokpal bill will be tabled in the Lok Sabha today. With a chairperson and eight members, half of them judicial, Lokpal is expected to have authority to investigate and even prosecute. It will also be provided with officers and staff necessary to carry out its…
The Cradle Baby scheme, under which cradles are placed at various locations to receive female children abandoned by their parents, has been extended to five more districts in Tamil Nadu. The scheme is aimed at improving the child sex ratio (CSR) by curtailing female infanticide and abandoning of the girl child, which has been an issue of…
