Opinion PPP for MDM
Deepak Pental has aptly described the importance of bringing in fortified foods in the MDM scheme
* Deepak Pental has aptly described the importance of bringing in fortified foods in the MDM scheme. Recent developments necessitate the provision of packaged fortified food products to malnourished and undernourished children. Packaged foods will be more hygienic,less likely to get spoiled,and this will pre-empt sickness. In a country like India,with 47 per cent of children under five malnourished,70 per cent suffering from deficiencies,and 30 per cent recording a low birth weight,innovative methods in the MDM scheme can work wonders. The PPP arrangement can be made use of to tap the potential of packaged fortified food for this purpose. All big,corporatised NGOs have industrial partners who can provide them part-funding and meet their infrastructural costs. Tamil Nadu and Puducherry have already roped in the private sector and provide fortified food products in MDM.
Bablu Gupta
Vadodara
Talk to us
* Apropos Reform and resistance (IE,August 2). In 1991,several prominent Congress leaders had reservations about Manmohan Singhs radical proposals. The then prime minister,Narasimha Rao,stood behind him like a rock. Today,Singh himself is the PM. He is the head of the executive. If the Congress does not support him on his reform agenda,he should resign. If allied parties do not agree with his proposals,he should seek a fresh mandate from the people. A leader who values national interest above all else will not mind taking such risks. A party whose primary goal is to cling to power at all costs will not take such risks. Its all very well for Singh to say that there needs to be a consensus. As the head of the executive,he is the one who needs to build that consensus. It might be a good idea for him to take the Indian people into confidence a little more often.
M.K. Mahapatra
Tipping point
* This refers to Silence of the middle class by Sandhya Venkateswaran (IE,August 1). Contrary to the writers perception,the middle class is not self-serving. It speaks out and voices concerns for Bharat as much as it does for India. It does this every day,while on a morning walk,during a coffee break at work and when having meals at home. Every piece of breaking news is greeted with a wave of tweets and Facebook updates demonstrating concern. A lot of the middle classs time goes in earning a livelihood,from which it pays the government taxes with which to run welfare schemes. Every once in a while,when it reaches the end of its tether,its rage tips over as it goes to protest in the streets.
Alind Dubey
Mathura
Rule based system
* Louise Tillin (Why we need a state,IE,August 1) has raised some pertinent points regarding the need for a second States Reorganisation Commission (SRC). It is only a matter of time before the need for one will become too apparent to ignore. A legitimate demand for a separate state shouldnt be frowned upon. All such demands can be dealt with within our constitutional framework. The argument that it will lead to the weakening of the Indian Union undermines the very idea of India. If the US,with 50 states,can maintain its union,then surely India isnt going to fall apart any time soon. It is important that a SRC weighs the merits of each demand and evolves a rule-based,objective system for conferring statehood.
Abhimanyu Bishnoi
Gurgaon
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