Free bus ride for women likely to be within a district
Addressing a gathering of water users' association at Sundipenta in Srisailam, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said his government is fulfilling all the Super Six promises it had made before the elections. Listing them out, Mr. Naidu said the government will release the Annadata Sukhibava funds this month itself. 'Women can travel free in the district in RTC buses from August 15,' he added.
The State government is yet to finalise guidelines for the implementation of the scheme and Mr. Naidu's remarks threw hints that the free ride for women would be confined to the district in which they are residing.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
23 minutes ago
- NDTV
Nara Lokesh Slams Gender Stereotypes In Textbooks, Calls For Curriculum Overhaul
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader and Human Resource Development Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Nara Lokesh, has called for a sweeping review of school textbooks in the state, flagging what he described as "deeply embedded gender stereotypes" in early childhood education. In an exclusive interview to NDTV, Lokesh said that primary school content often portrays women in limiting roles and reinforces traditional biases that should have no place in modern classrooms. "In our Class 1, Class 2 textbooks, you will find women doing the household work and the man reading the newspaper. These are stereotypes," Lokesh said. "We are unconsciously reinforcing these roles in our children's minds." The remarks come ahead of a state-wide initiative called Taliki Vandanam under the TDP's education outreach programme. Lokesh said his party, if elected to power in Andhra Pradesh, will take steps to ensure that the curriculum reflects "respect, equality, and neutrality" in how gender is represented. The Education Reform The push to reform textbooks is part of a wider education plan by the TDP, which has been sharply critical of the YSRCP government's handling of public schooling. Lokesh said the TDP is focused on both improving academic infrastructure and embedding social values early in the schooling system. He also took aim at cultural language norms that subtly perpetuate gender biases. "We've taught our teachers and parents that saying things like 'don't cry like a girl', or 'are you wearing bangles?' is very wrong," Lokesh said. "If a child cries, say 'don't cry like NTR', who never cried - make it gender neutral." Such phrases, he argued, may seem trivial but have a lasting psychological impact on how children view themselves and others. A Broader National Context Gender representation in education has been an ongoing debate across India. The National Curriculum Framework 2023, introduced under the New Education Policy (NEP), acknowledges the need to make textbooks free from stereotypes, but implementation at the state level remains uneven. In Andhra Pradesh, the issue has not seen large-scale public discourse until now. Lokesh's comments are likely to resonate among educationists and child rights activists, especially as Andhra Pradesh prepares for its Mega Parent-Teacher Meeting (PTM) 2.0, a state-wide outreach programme aiming to involve nearly 2 crore stakeholders. The TDP, under Lokesh's leadership, appears to be positioning education not only as a policy priority but also as a space to redefine social norms.
NDTV
2 hours ago
- NDTV
"Today, A Child Is Outsourced To Instagram": Nara Lokesh On Parenting In Digital Age
In a candid reflection on the social impact of technology, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader and Andhra Pradesh minister Nara Lokesh has warned that parenting in India is undergoing a troubling shift - one where digital platforms are fast replacing traditional family systems as the primary influence in a child's life. "If you look at it in the past, families were joint families and we would learn a lot. We would serve our elders first and learn how to respect, socialise, discuss various issues across the table. But today's families have become very nuclear and under work pressure, the child is outsourced to Instagram or various other social media platforms where today socialisation is happening on social media. It's not happening within the family," Lokesh told NDTV. "Whilst we were a joint family, the advantage was that, the parents or the grandparents would take care of the child. There's a lot of values that we would actually learn from," he added. Lokesh said he believes that value systems should be embedded not only in homes but also in classrooms. As part of the TDP's education blueprint, he is advocating a broader approach that integrates respect, empathy, and responsibility into the schooling experience. "Definitely mother tongue is important, no second thoughts about it and this is something that we go to great lengths in our own child's case and third, it's not just about Iron Man, Superman, it can also be about Hanuman, Rama. There's great learnings and that's where all comic books in that sense is what he also enjoys," Lokesh said. His comments come at a time when concerns over screen addiction, short-form content, and AI-generated misinformation are on the rise among educationists and child psychologists. According to a 2023 UNICEF report, over 70% of Indian children between the ages of 8 and 15 now have unsupervised access to smartphones.
NDTV
2 hours ago
- NDTV
"We Will Lead AI Like We Led IT": Nara Lokesh On Creating Job Opportunities
Ahead of Andhra Pradesh's Mega Parent-Teacher Meet (PTM) 2.0, which will have the participation of over 2 crore people from across the state on a single day, NDTV spoke to state IT Minister Nara Lokesh about the state's efforts to transform education from KG to PG, tackle gender stereotypes from primary classrooms, and adapt parenting for the digital age. Here's the full interview: How are you preparing youth to be more job-ready? Answer- I have the unique distinction of handling both Bharat and India-education for Bharat, and IT and electronics for India. It's not just about educating our youth but also about creating job opportunities. So we are revamping our curriculum from KG to PG to make it future- and skills-ready. #NDTVExclusive | Andhra Minister Nara Lokesh (@naralokesh) speaks exclusively to NDTV's @vasudha156 and @tmvraghav on new education policy, language row and the mega PTM 2.0. — NDTV (@ndtv) July 9, 2025 With initiatives like the upcoming Quantum Valley in Amaravati and the rise of AI and machine learning, we need to upskill our young population. Under Mr Naidu's leadership, the Telugu community led the IT revolution. Now, we must prepare them for the next wave-in AI, ML, and quantum computing. Q: What is your approach under the Taliki Vandanam scheme? It began during my padayatra. I noticed deeply rooted gender stereotypes, even in early education. When I became minister, I reviewed first and second grade textbooks. All household work was shown being done by women. I asked-why should it be this way? My wife Brahmani and I lived in the US and shared responsibilities equally. I believe such values must start from primary education. So, we changed visuals in textbooks, and we're speaking out against phrases like "don't cry like a girl" or "are you wearing bangles?" Taliki Vandanam is more than a Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme. It's about instilling respect for mothers and women. The Mega PTM is part of this broader cultural shift-to get blessings from mothers and honour them in society. Q: Were you ever scared of PTMs as a schoolboy? Lokesh: I'm my mother's son. My father was usually away, so my mother raised me. She attended the PTMs, and I was quite a naughty child. So yes, I got a proper scolding at home afterwards! Q: Do you support the National Education Policy, especially the three-language formula? Lokesh: Absolutely. The TDP's support for the Prime Minister is unconditional. We believe in his leadership. When I met Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhanji, he emphasised the importance of mother tongue-not Hindi imposition. We support teaching multiple languages-three, four, or even five. Job markets are global, and we are teaching Japanese, German, and more. We should embrace Hindi too-it's our national language, and we have no objection. Q: But does the three-language policy threaten the Telugu identity? Lokesh: Not at all. Why are we pitting languages against one another? That's politically motivated. Our conversation with the Centre is about strengthening education in the mother tongue. Language isn't a threat-it's a bridge. The more languages our children learn, the stronger our unity as a nation. Q: How has parenting changed over generations? What's the biggest challenge today? Lokesh: Earlier, joint families taught us to share, serve elders, and communicate. Today, with nuclear families and work stress, children are often raised by Instagram or Inshorts. Socialization has moved online. We still live in a joint family, and I encourage all parents to involve grandparents. That generational value transfer is crucial. As a nation, we must revive the strength of family systems.
