-Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Under the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5, the target is to reduce Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) by three quarters between 1990 & 2015. Based on the UN Inter-Agency Expert Group's MMR estimates in the publication "Trends in Maternal Mortality: 1990 to 2013", the target for MMR is estimated to be 140 per 1,00,000 live births by the year 2015 taking a...

-Down to Earth Shortage of antiretroviral drugs and lack of diagnosis is not new in India, but government does not admit to the crisis The fight against HIV/AIDS in India is becoming tougher by the day as patients continue to face an acute shortage of antiretroviral drugs. This is an alarming situation for a country with the third-highest number of HIV+ people in the world-2.1 million. In 2012, about 140,000 people in...

-Economic and Political Weekly   This paper proposes an approach to periodically measure the extent of progress towards universal health coverage using a set of indicators that captures the essence of the factors to be considered in moving towards universalisation. It presents the rationale for the approach and demonstrates its use, based on a primary household survey carried out at the district level. Discussing the strengths and limitations of the approach, it...

-The Hindu The Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) launched in 2011 to enumerate castes along with socio-economic data, is progressing, and is likely to be completed soon. A stand-alone caste headcount may not normally be desirable in a country grappling with the adverse consequences of social hierarchy and caste-based divisions. However, in conjunction with socio-economic data, a caste census may yield quantifiable data that could be used to evaluate measures such...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The capital's babus are feeling wanted. At last, a government seems to care about their "happiness", "satisfaction" and "contribution". A recent government circular prods civil servants to do voluntary social service for "internal happiness". Another requests each soon-to-retire official to write a 1,000-word paper on his or her "outstanding" contribution - for their own "satisfaction" and to inspire junior colleagues. They must, however, restrict themselves to personal innovations that...