THE CHILD population in India today stands at more than 400 million, which is more than the total population of many countries in the world. As a large country with diversity in economic attainment, political and institutional histories and cultural specificities, the protection of children’s rights continues to represent a key challenge.
While there have been gainful achievements in child development indicators of health, nutrition, education and other entitlements—some states doing better than the others—these key areas continue to be abysmally poor for certain classes of children and more disadvantaged communities. Currently, India has the largest network of public schools with 1.5 million schools covering 260 million students, 13 million Anganwadi centres and noon meal schemes covering millions of children.
Yet, our country also ranks 94 out of 107 countries on the Global Hunger Index 2020—lower than Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. According to India’s National Family Health Survey 2015–16, 38 per cent of India’s children are stunted and 36 per cent are underweight. While the global infant mortality rate was 30.5 deaths per 1,000 live births, in India it stood at 41 in 2016 and higher still among scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, and girls.
This story is from the November 2020 edition of Reader's Digest India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 2020 edition of Reader's Digest India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
THE UNBELIEVABLE MR RIPLEY
The creator of Believe It or Not had an insatiable curiosity about strange and astonishing facts
HE OPENED UP THE ARC TIC
\"You don't just sit and wait for adventure to come,\" famed polar explorer Knud Rasmussen liked to explain.\"You go out and make it happen!\"
Discovering Babasaheb
This Dalit history month—which also marks the 134\" birth anniversary of Dr B. R. Ambedkar, we recount four momentous incidents from his life
Lion in the Living Room
Five decades after two young men brought a playful cub into their London home, the tale has touched a whole new generation
The Many Roles of SUNIL DUTT
Through many personal tragedies, this favourite matinee idol finds strength and solace in helping others
AGATHA CHRISTIE MURDER BY THE BOOK
More widely read than any other English writer, she baffled the world with masterly tales of murder and remained something of a mystery herself
THE DAY WE MADE Flying History
Ona sunny September day in 1913, the author set three world records ina homemade flying machine
THE COMMANDO WITH THE TATTOO
Ganesh Dhangde was just six years old when he got lost. Twenty years later, his mother had a visitor
MARILYN: HER MAGIC LINGERS ON
The real Marilyn Monroe was nobody you'd look at twice—unless she wanted you to
I Think, Therefore, I Spam...
...has become the way forward for too many e-mail pests. Here's how I deal with them every single day