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New Indian Express
16-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Samagra Shiksha: Kerala to explore legal options over delay in central funds
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government will explore legal options regarding the denial of central funds to the tune of Rs 1,466 crore to Samagra Shiksha Kerala (SSK) for nearly two years, allegedly due to non-implementation of the National Education Policy. Senior education department officials will meet Advocate General K Gopalakrishna Kurup on Thursday to discuss the issue, sources said. A decision has been made to approach the court. 'The officials will meet the AG to finalise the appropriate legal platform,' said a senior official. The denial of funds for two years has left the students in a lurch. Distribution of orthopaedic equipment for children with disabilities, textbooks, uniforms and travel allowances have been pending for long. The Union government has not released funds to SSK since the second half of the 2023-24 academic year. No reason has been cited for the delay. The SSK, however, is conducting therapy for autistic children and other basic activities through funds from the state and local self-governments, sources said. But nearly everything else has come to a standstill. Fund crunch has crippled many projects, says official Earlier, the implementation of many centrally sponsored schemes under the National Health Mission were affected in the state, due to a delay in central grants. The state has been locked in a major dispute with the Union government over the latter insisting on branding of schemes funded by the Centre. In the case of SSK, non implementation of NEP could be the reason for non-issue of funds, said officials. 'No official reason has been cited for the delay. But as per unofficial communication, fund allocation has been affected due to non-implementation of NEP,' a top education department official told TNIE. The funds are supposed to move through the PM-SHRI (PM-ScHools for Rising India) scheme, which falls under NEP. Fund shortage has severely crippled many projects, said SSK officials. 'Inclusive education, RTE entitlements, vocational education projects, learning enhancement activities have all been severely affected due to the lack of funds,' said SSK state project director Supriya A R. Generally, SSK receives 60% of funds from the centre and the remaining from the state. Even tha payment of salaries to employees is in crisis due to the state's financial situation. Department officials have discussed with the finance minister the allocation of additional funds to provide salary.
Scroll.in
07-07-2025
- Business
- Scroll.in
Delhi HC dismisses Turkish firm Celebi's plea against security clearance revocation
The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a petition filed by Turkish firm Celebi Aviation challenging the revocation of its security clearance by the Union government amid tensions between India and Pakistan in May, Bar and Bench reported. On May 15, the Union government withdrew Celebi's clearance 'in the interest of national security', following public anger about Turkish companies supplying weapons to Pakistan. The ground and bridge handling firm was barred from operating at several Indian airports, including Delhi and Mumbai. During earlier proceedings, advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Celebi, argued that the company had been punished without being informed why it was being subjected to such harsh measures. Rohatgi said this violated procedural safeguards, including those laid out in Rule 12 of the 2023 Aircraft Security Rules. The rule grants the Director General of Civil Aviation the power to suspend or cancel security clearances and programmes, but subject to procedural safeguards. The Turkish firm should have been given proper notice before being subjected to such measures, the advocate added. Such 'complete violation of natural justice principles' rendered the revocation of Celebi's security clearance void, Rohatgi said. The advocate had also objected to the decision by the Union government to submit its reasons for the revocation in a sealed cover accessible only to the court. He said that the firm had no ties to the Turkish government and no conflicts or problems with India, adding that the revocation of its security clearance had impacted more than 10,000 employees in the country. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Union government, said that it could not have given notice of the security clearance revocation to Celebi due to national security concerns amid the conflict between India and Pakistan, Bar and Bench reported. Mehta also said that the firm was involved in ground and cargo handling, which allowed it access to aircraft and cargo screening at several airports, including those handling VIP movements, The Hindu reported. This prompted authorities to exercise their 'plenary powers' under the relevant law to take action, he added. Besides Mumbai and Delhi, Celebi was operating ground handling services at the airports in Kochi, Kannur, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mopa (Goa), Ahmedabad and Chennai, according to its website. Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated on May 7 when the Indian military carried out strikes – codenamed Operation Sindoor – on what it claimed were terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The strikes were in response to the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, which killed 26 persons on April 22. The Pakistani Army retaliated to Indian strikes by repeatedly shelling Indian villages along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. At least 22 Indian civilians and eight defence personnel were killed in the shelling. The two sides on May 10 reached an 'understanding' to halt firing following the four-day conflict.
The Hindu
04-07-2025
- General
- The Hindu
PM-POSHAN vs reality: How India's midday meal programme struggles on the ground
A hundred years after the Madras Municipal Corporation first introduced the midday meal scheme, every Indian State and Union Territory today runs the programme—some, like Kerala, serving modern additions such as egg fried rice and micro greens. Yet, inefficiencies persist across the country, with funding remaining a major concern for a scheme that has consistently improved students enrolment and retention in schools. In early 2025, the Maharashtra government mulled scrapping eggs from the mid-day meal citing funding constraints. But following widespread criticism, it reversed the move—reinstating eggs and bananas weekly and doubling the scheme's budget, though critics raised concerns over the dilution of the programme's nutritional value. The Hindu takes a deep dive into various meal programmes in the country, tracing the origins and examining the effectiveness of the implementation. A century-old journey Midday mealsin schools have a long history in India. In 1925, India's first-ever midday meal scheme was introduced for disadvantaged children in the Madras Municipal Corporation. Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, and the UT of Pondicherry had universalised a cooked midday meal programme with their resources for primary students by the 1980s. The Union government launched the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education, a nationwide mid-day meal scheme, on August 15, 1995, to ensure enrollment, retention, and attendance, as well as improve nutritional levels among children across India. 'In Tamil Nadu, M Singaravelar, a member of the erstwhile Madras Municipal Corporation in the 1920s, took the initiative to introduce the first ever Midday Meal Scheme for marginalised children under the Corporation limits. Later, it was transformed into a fully-funded government scheme along with the inclusion of vegetables, fruits and pulses into the menu,' said P.B. Prince Gajendra Babu, general secretary of the State Platform for Common School System-Tamil Nadu (SPCSS-TN). The Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM-POSHAN), which was introduced for an initial five-year period (2021–22 to 2025–26), aimed to provide one cooked meal to students up to Class 8 in Government and Government-aided schools. It replaced the earlier midday meal scheme, launched in 1995, which focused on universalising primary education. PM-POSHAN's cost is shared by the Centre and States on a 60:40 basis, with the Centre supplying foodgrains. Taking the vision to the next level, Tamil Nadu launched the Chief Minister's Breakfast Scheme on September 15, 2022. Initially rolled out in 1,545 government schools, the programme covered over 1.14 lakh primary school students from Classes 1 to 5. The scheme, designed to eradicate hunger, malnutrition, anaemia, vitamin B12 deficiency and underweight conditions, has already shown measurable impact. According to the State Planning Commission, attendance rose in 1,319 participating schools so far. Building on this momentum, the State government has announced that from July 15, 2025, the scheme will be expanded to include all government-aided schools in urban areas, thereby bringing all government and aided schools under its ambit. As of now, more than 17.53 lakh students across 34,987 government and aided schools are receiving breakfast under the scheme. Undeniable results A 2024 systematic review of 31 studies on the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Scheme in India found that regular access to MDM consistently improved enrolment, attendance, retention, and even learning outcomes, though nutritional improvements varied. Educationalist Ms. Aruna Ratnam, who previously worked with the UNICEF, said primary school attendance improved after the introduction of the midday meal scheme. 'A study by economist Jean Dreze found that primary school attendance improved in the 1990s following the universalisation of the midday meal scheme. It was achieved way before the introduction of schemes like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, introduced in 2001,' she said. Dipa Sinha, an independent development economist and researcher associated with the Right to Food Campaign—an informal network of organisations and individuals working to ensure food is recognised as a fundamental right—said midday meals have helped bring children to schools and retain them there, particularly those from backward communities. 'It also addresses the issue of classroom hunger as many children, who come to school without having breakfast, can have a meal. That, in turn, improves their learning,' she said. 'We take loans to fund the meals' Vasudha (name changed), a headteacher at a government-aided school of Kerala's Kozhikode district, gets barely enough time to juggle between academic duties and regular administrative responsibilities as the new decision by the State's education department to introduce new dishes like Egg Fried Rice has caused immense pressure on her to find sponsors for each day. 'My school has nearly 650 students and all of them take meals from the school. I have to spend more than half a day to ensure that all are being fed on time. It severely affects my academic duties,' said Vasudha. She claimed that the delay in disbursing funds has forced teachers to spend more than ₹ 50,000 from their pockets to manage their weekly requirements. The Kerala government currently allocates ₹ 6.78 and ₹ 10.17 for midday meals per child a day in lower primary and upper primary classes respectively, less than half of what schools actually spend. 'We have been struggling to get funds from the government for midday meal schemes for the last 4-5 years. Some teachers had to take loans to meet these expenses last year,' she said. Vasudha pointed out that even when payments are cleared, they often arrive after a delay of three to four months, and usually in instalments. 'We won't receive the amount of vegetables, eggs, and milk together, and we have to visit the offices multiple times to complete the process. But we have to settle the expenses with shopkeepers and milkmen every week. With this new menu, we will have to find at least ₹ 40 per child. Besides, we will have to spend ₹ 7 for an egg, ₹ 60 for milk twice a week, ₹ 12,000 for LPG for a month, and transportation charges for foodgrains. Be it the regular rice and grain or the new dishes, we are permitted to appoint only one cook to prepare for 500 students. We could only use LPG for cooking as the government has mandated it to promote a sense of environmental protection among the students. We are clueless about how to manage these skyrocketing expenses,' she said. Other Indian States are no exception. Schools across India are grappling with the lack of support through the PM-POSHAN scheme despite statistics revealing that the midday meal scheme has shown significant progress in student retention rates. 'We receive only ₹ 4 and ₹ 6.19 per child for lower and upper primary classes. ₹ 4 is allocated to provide fruits for each child every Monday. Apart from this, the government provides wheat and rice of 100 grams for each child from the government ration shop, but we have to bear the transportation cost of bringing grains from the outlet to the school. Besides, we aren't receiving any separate funds for grinding the wheat,' said a headmaster from Azamgarh of Uttar Pradesh. He pointed out that, of late, funds are being disbursed late. 'With the current inflation, these funds were never sufficient. We are providing 100 grams of milk every Wednesday by spending from our pockets. We are not receiving the funds for the mid-day meal scheme every month. The grant is often given after 3 months or 6 months without any specific timelines. With the current grant, we won't be able to feed everyone. The government believes that only 80% of the children require food and the remaining 20% of children bring tiffin from home. But in reality, the majority of the children aren't able to afford such luxuries and all of them eat their lunch from the school,' he added. Educationist Anil Sadgopal claims that universalised midday meals are still a distant dream in States like Bihar. Sadgopal, who was part of Bihar's Common School System Commission in 2007, recommended universalising school education until Class 10 to provide equitable quality for all students through initiatives like the midday meal scheme. 'There is a complete mismanagement in midday meal schemes in Bihar. Back in 2007, our Commission submitted a set of recommendations calling for universalised nutritious mid-day meals cooked by trained staff. But the proposals were shelved. Six years later, in 2013, 23 children lost their lives and over 100 were hospitalised after consuming contaminated food in a school meal. More than a decade on, nothing has changed and there are various areas in the State where the scheme is blatantly absent,' said Sadgopal. Caste-based discrimination Caste-based discrimination has been reported in serving and consuming mid-day meals. Discriminatory practices, such as separate seating arrangements or denial of meals based on caste, have been reported in both Northern and Southern States, breaching the principles of equality and inclusion. Students from marginalised communities often face social exclusion in accessing mid-day meals. Madhu Prasad, a former philosophy professor at Delhi University and a veteran activist working for equitable access to quality education for all children, claimed that caste-based discrimination is very prevalent across public schools in the Delhi NCR region. 'Dalit children are still made to sit separately in dining areas and teachers are putting down food into their bowls without bending down. There are instances of parents avoiding school meals if the cook was a Dalit. Following complaints from parents, many schools in the NCR region had removed these cooks as well,' she said. South India is also facing a similar challenge and experts feel that the midday meal scheme brings in an aspect of social dining amidst the issues of caste-based discrimination. 'Caste is indeed a major issue in this scheme in Tamil Nadu. There are places where dominant caste groups won't consume lunch prepared by female cooks from non-dominant or marginalised castes. However, teachers are making an effort to ensure that children do eat their midday meals. With the introduction of breakfast in schools, the situation has improved a lot these days,' said Ms. Ratnam. Is PM-POSHAN effective on the ground? The PM-POSHAN scheme, on the other hand, introduced as a solution for classroom hunger, has its own lapses. The scheme covers about 11.80 crore children studying in 11.20 lakh schools across the country. In 2020–21, the Centre spent more than ₹24,400 crore on the scheme, with nearly ₹11,500 crore earmarked for food grains. The total approved outlay stands at ₹54,061.73 crore from the Central Government and ₹31,733.17 crore from States and Union Territories. However, activists point out that the scheme has a 'one size fits all' approach that is unsuitable for several states with unique challenges. 'The PM-POSHAN scheme, in its current form, falls far short of its intended goals. Proposals like setting up nutrition gardens in schools or implementing IT-based monitoring systems are largely tokenistic and disconnected from on-ground realities, especially in rural or under-resourced areas. Other than the cosmetic rebranding of the old Midday Meal Scheme, the initiative offers nothing in terms of meaningful nutritional innovation. What's urgently needed is a serious overhaul incorporating a scientifically designed meal plan and the inclusion of breakfast and nutritional snacks to address classroom hunger and malnutrition,' said Ms. Prasad. Echoing a similar view, Ms. Sinha opined that the PM-POSHAN scheme has always had a disparity in terms of fund allocation. 'Many States in the South are receiving only the basic minimum required resources as per norms while several North Indian states are getting more than what the norm requires them to provide. Financial assistance to procure items like eggs are not provided to all the States. The scheme isn't bridging the gap of state-level disparities, but providing only basic minimum resources across all States,' she said. Tamil Nadu appears to be at the forefront of bridging critical nutritional and implementation gaps in the midday meal scheme with its proactive initiatives, outperforming many other States. Ms. Ratnam attributes this to the Dravidian model of investment in education and health. This approach is said to have ensured that all schools are seamlessly implementing these schemes. 'Awareness among the general public and elected officials plays a crucial role in the wide reach and success of these schemes. Around 97% of Tamil Nadu has definitely been covered in the scheme and is showing huge results on the ground. Although teachers are burdened with statistical duties connected with the midday meal scheme, they do see the reasoning behind it. In Tamil Nadu, schools have started assessing the BMIs of students. Meanwhile, Anganwadis have turned into a crucial feeding centre for kids along with duties like immunisation. All these initiatives help ensure that the effect of malnutrition at such a young age is eliminated,' said Ms Ratnam. 'The school dropout rate, particularly for girls, has drastically reduced up to Class 12 and more girls are showing interest in education,' she said. Way forward Experts point out that States like Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Odisha offer successful models that can be replicated across the country by adapting to the local requirements. 'Even States like Tamil Nadu aren't able to handle exceptional cases as issues that come outside the purview of department-driven programmes become a problem. They won't be able to deal psychosocial areas related to these schemes. This is where NGOs can play a crucial role as they have funding and expertise to address them without involvement of the State,' Ms Ratnam said. Ms. Sinha has called for better financial assistance from the Centre for the scheme. 'The resource-generating capacity of the State governments has become limited and the funding must come from the Centre as the majority of taxes are collected by the Union government and some of these initiatives are centrally-sponsored schemes. It is the children who ultimately suffer due to these shortages in the end. While States continue to manage these schemes amidst the shortage in resources, the fiscal space to bring innovative measures has also become limited. The norms and structures of the scheme were created with the expectation that these funds and resources would be provided. There are numerous cases of funds being withheld with claims that some norms are not followed,' said Ms. Sinha. Experts pointed out that customising midday meals for a specific population has been a weakness in almost all States. 'The more local these schemes are, the better it is for the general population. Kerala has a good model with grassroots level participation to provide nutrition, childcare and child rights. It ensures a community-level approach,' said Ms Ratnam.
India.com
03-07-2025
- Business
- India.com
7th Pay Commission: Good news for government employees as DA maybe increased by...; check announcement, key details
Representational Image 7th Pay Commission: In some major good news for central government employees, the Union government is likely to increase the Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) by 4 percent under the 7th Pay Commission regime. The announcement is expected to be made in August, but the benefits will be implemented from July itself, according to reports. How much will be DA hike for central govt employees? The DA hike will depend on the All India Consumer Price Index (AICPI-IW), which increased by by 0.5 points to 144 in May 2025. The index has increased for three consecutive months, from 143 in March, 143.5 in April and 144 in May. Considering this trend, its likely that dearness allowance could increase from 3-4 percent from July. The final DA hike will be determined by June 2025 AICPI-IW data, which will be released in August. In case of a 3 percent increase, the DA will be hiked to 58%, from the current 55%, while a 4 percent hike would mean a 59% DA for central government employees. When will the DA hike be announced? The CPI-IW data for June is expected in late July or early August, which would give the Union Cabinet a basis to decide the dearness allowance hike under the 7th Pay Commission regime. The announcement is likely to come in mid-August, but the hike, along with arrears from July, are expected to be available to employees by late September or early October 2025. What about 8th Pay Commission? If we go by previous implementation of previous pay commissions, it usually takes about 18 to 24 months for the government to implement the recommendations. Thus, its unlikely that 8th Pay Commission would be implemented before 2027.
The Wire
02-07-2025
- Business
- The Wire
'Every Tom, Dick and Harry is Authorised to Issue Content Takedown Orders': X Tells Karnataka HC
New Delhi: Lawyers of social media platform X – owned by billionaire Elon Musk – have told an Indian court that every "Tom, Dick, and Harry" government official have been authorised to issue content takedown orders. This statement made by X's lawyer K.G. Raghavan before the Karnataka high court on Tuesday (July 1) drew a sharp rebuke from the Union government's counsel. During the court hearing, Raghavan said that X had recently received a notice from the railways department to remove a video in which a car was being driven on a railway track. He told the court that while it was news the government found it unlawful. "This is the danger, My Lord, that is done now, if every Tom, Dick, and Harry officer is authorised," Raghavan told the high court, reported Reuters. Raghavan's statement resulted in immediate condemnation from solicitor general Tushar Mehta. 'Officers are not Tom, Dick, or Harry ... they are statutory functionaries. No social media intermediary can expect completely unregulated functioning,' said Mehta. During the hearing presided by Justice M. Nagaprasanna, senior advocate Aditya Sondhi, appearing for an association of digital media houses, who has filed an intervention application argued, 'We are content creators who are ultimately affected by any take-down orders,' reported LiveLaw. Justice Nagaprasanna also took objection to the 'Tom Dick and Harry" remarks. 'These are officers of the Union of India. I take objection to this. They are officers and not Tom, Dick and Harry,' said Justice Nagaprasanna during the hearing. X has approached the court seeking a declaration that Section 79(3)(b) IT Act does not confer the authority to issue information blocking orders and such orders can only be issued after following the procedure under Section 69A of the Act read with the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public) Rules. It is also seeking a direction to various ministries of the Union of India from taking coercive or prejudicial action against X in relation to any 'Information Blocking Orders' issued other than those issued in accordance with section 69A of the IT Act, read with the blocking rules. The court posted the matter for final hearing on July 8 and permitted the petitioner to amend the petition and implead different ministries of the Union of India.
