Keep up-to-date with all that is happening in welfare policy with this curated selection of news, published every fortnight. 

Policy News 

General:

• The Winter Session of the Parliament is scheduled to commence on the 18th of November, and will go on till 13th December. 

Health & Nutrition: 

• The Global Health Index, a joint project of Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide, has placed India in the ‘serious’ levels of hunger category. India has slipped to rank 102 among 117 countries. The report also points to open defecation being an “impacting factor for health”.  The government has reacted strongly to the “criteria and parameter” followed for the Index.
• The Supreme Court has favoured a petition seeking the creation of community kitchens across the country. It has also issued notice to states and Union Territories seeking their responses on setting up such kitchens. The matter will be heard next on 26th November. 

Education: 

• The 14-year-old National Curriculum Framework will be revised for alignment with the new National Education Policy. The National Council of Educational Research and Training is set to announce a committee for this purpose. The NCERT will also undertake a survey in six blocks to analyse the quality of primary education, and areas of improvement. 
• Rina Ray has been transferred out by the government as the School Education Secretary. 

Governance: 

• The Punjab government will depute 8,000 nodal officers across the state to keep a check on stubble burning. On catching farmers indulging in this practice, the nodal officers will ensure red entry in the revenue records with the help of the village patwari. 

Opinion 

Missing in the slew of recent policy measures to arrest the current economic slowdown is any serious policy antidote for the crisis confronting India’s rural economy, writes Yamini Aiyar.