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Millions of rural households in India lack access to clean basic lighting which hampers the ability of children to study during dark hours. Over 81 million students are likely to be dependent on kerosene lamps for basic lighting. Despite programmes focusing on disseminating solar lanterns since the last three decades, penetration is limited owing to three main barriers: affordability, absence of after-sales services and unavailability in rural markets. This paper presents the localization-affordability-saturation (LAS) model that addresses these main barriers by bringing together three institutional spheres - government, corporate and NGOs for speedy upscaling. This paper illustrates experiences and challenges that have emerged from field testing of the model through Million Solar Urja Lamp Programme while disseminating 1,000,000 solar study lamps to rural school children residing in more than 10,000 villages in India. Though implemented successfully, applicability of LAS model can be hindered due to dependence on subsidies, bottlenecks in local manufacturing infrastructure, absence of market mechanism and its relevance in providing complete lighting solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is based on the findings of a research study which traced 56 rural women learners 15 years after they had participated in an empowerment and education programme in North India. It attempts to understand, from the perspectives of women from marginalised communities, the ways in which participating in the programme had been empowering for them, or not. While most of the women were indeed able to transform several areas in their lives, this study illustrates that empowering outcomes cannot be assumed or articulated in categorical terms and that bringing about change requires the negotiation of power at various levels. The women's narratives stand in contrast to the prevalent discourses around women's literacy and empowerment, which highlight the importance of literacy only in terms of its positive impact on attaining development goals. Despite the vigorously discussed de-politicisation of the concept of empowerment, the authors show in this paper that empowerment, when informed by a critical feminist understanding, continues to provide a useful framework to analyse women's experiences related to education, as a process enabling women to understand and negotiate structures of power - which are neither static nor wholly dominating - and to find spaces to exercise agency. There are few longitudinal studies which trace the long-term impact of educational programmes on adult women, and most studies are in the nature of impact assessments of programmes. Through this paper the authors argue for the need to analyse the complexities around the relationship between women's education and empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We examine changes in educational inequality in India between years 1993 and 2009. [•] We compute the education Gini index using multiple rounds of large scale nationally representative survey. [•] We find though the inequality has declined during the period, the extent of inequality remains high. [•] The results show there is a clear rural–urban contrast. [•] Using the analysis of Gini, we find that a large part of educational inequality is due to intra-sector inequality. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper informs debates about the potential role for low-fee private schooling in achieving Education for All goals in India. It reports Young Lives’ longitudinal data for two cohorts (2906 children) in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Eight year olds uptake of private schooling increased from 24 per cent (children born in 1994–5) to 44 per cent (children born in 2001–2). Children from rural areas, lower socioeconomic backgrounds and girls continue to be under represented. While some access gaps decreased, the gender gap seems to be widening. Evidence on risks to equity strengthen the case for an effectively regulated private sector, along with reforms to government sector schools. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Despite considerable progress made, a significant proportion of children continue to drop out before reaching secondary school in India. This study investigates factors influencing parental decision-making with regard to children''s secondary schooling in the context of a rural area of Uttar Pradesh. The study finds that cost, distance to the nearest secondary school, membership in traditionally marginalised social groups, and being a girl child have a significant effect on a child''s chance of transition. It also finds that factors influencing participation at the primary level may influence the transition decision, having key implications for education policy formulation across education levels. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]