Monday, July 23, 2018

Istituto Italiano di Cultura New Delhi's photo.

JUL26

Screening of Italian Film -Terraferma by Emanuele Crialese

Public

· Hosted by Istituto Italiano di Cultura New Delhi

Thursday at 19:00–21:00

3 days from now26–31°C Heavy thunderstorm
Istituto Italiano di Cultura New Delhi
Italian Embassy Cultural Centre, 50-E, Nyaya Marg, Delhi, India 110021

Russian foreign minister visiting Israel Monday for Syria talks

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Moscow's military chief of staff will arrive in Israel later Monday for talks on the conflict in neighbouring Syria, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting that Russian President Vladimir Putin requested the meeting with Lavrov and General Valery Gerasimov "in a conversation with me a few days ago".

The two leaders have held a number of discussions in recent months on the Syrian conflict and Iran's military presence there, which Israel opposes.

A series of strikes that have killed Iranians in Syria have been attributed to Israel.

Iran is Israel's arch-enemy and Netanyahu has pledged to keep it from entrenching itself militarily in Syria.

Both Tehran and Moscow are backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the conflict.

On June 19, Syrian government forces launched a Russia-backed offensive to retake Daraa and Quneitra provinces in the country´s south, near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Regime forces have now regained control of most of the two provinces through a combination of deadly bombardment and Moscow-brokered surrender deals.

Israel is eager to obtain guarantees that Iranian forces and allied groups, such as Hezbollah, are kept away from the Golan.

BJP president Amit Shah is seriously considering the dissolution of the Maharashtra Assembly. If that does go through, Maharashtra will also go to the polls this year along with Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhatisgarh.

The Shiv Sena, an ally of the BJP at the Centre and the state, shares a fractious relationship with the party, often taking on the garb of the opposition in its editorials and statements.

In the 288-seat Maharashtra assembly, the BJP is the single largest party with 122 seats, with the Sena a distant second with 63 seats.

The BJP is also considering withdrawal of support to Shiv Sena in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, where the Sena is in majority.

The grapevine says that the BJP is now calling the Sena's bluff and is fed up with the repeated threats from its ally. The Sena's decision to abstain from the no-confidence motion on July 20, is the proverbial straw, it seems.

Improve the Efficacy of School Feeding Programmes

Development Seminar |No Free Lunch: Using Technology to Improve the Efficacy of School Feeding Programmes

Friday, July 27, 2018, 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Brookings India, No. 6, Second Floor, Dr. Jose P. Rizal Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi

Dear Mr. Sagar,

I am writing to follow up on our invitation to you for attending our next Development Seminar on “No Free Lunch: Using Technology to Improve the Efficacy of School Feeding Programmes” with Prof. Sisir Debnath, Assistant Professor, Indian School of Business.

Abstract: Malnutrition among vulnerable children is often targeted using free school feeding programmes in developing countries. Prof. Debnath studies the role of technology in improving the delivery of school feeding programmes. Using the rollout of a mobile-based monitoring mechanism (Interactive Voice Response System or IVRS) that aids in cross-tallying the number of beneficiaries in the delivery chain, he finds that increase in resulting accountability reduces leakages in school lunch provision in Bihar. He contrasts the provision of meals in districts of Bihar and its contiguous neighbouring states from an independent survey with the official state records. Independently collected data reveals that the technology reform increases the likelihood of lunch provision in a school by 20 percentage points and finds that the increase in take-up is also accompanied by an improvement in the quality and quantity of meals.

Speaker Profile: Sisir Debnath is an Assistant Professor in the Economics and Public Policy area at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad. He received his Ph. D., from the University of Virginia in 2013. His primary research interests are in the areas of health, gender, and education in developing countries. Some of his current research involves investigating the effects of the social network in affecting the demand for tertiary care for publicly provided health insurance in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. His other working projects evaluate the role of information and communication technology on the provision of public goods.

Please RSVP: psharma@brookingsindia.org and contact nmehta@brookingsindia.org for media inquiries.

My Best,

Shamika Ravi

Dr. Shamika Ravi
Research Director, Brookings India
Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution