Ankaji Bhai Gangar, a 49-year-old subsistence farmer, stood in line in this remote village until, for the first time in his life, he squinted into the soft glow of a computer screen. His name, year of birth and address were recorded. A worker guided Mr. Gangar’s rough fingers to the glowing green surface of a scanner to record his fingerprints. He peered into an iris scanner shaped like binoculars that...

-Rediff.com   Despite a significant increase in women and child healthcare in India, more than nine lakh children in the country still die every year before becoming one-month-old, says a new global report. The study, conducted by experts at the World Health Organisation, Save the Children and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, is said to be the most comprehensive estimate to date, covering all 193 WHO member countries and...

-The Times of India   First the good news: India has recorded a 33% drop in newborn deaths between 1990 and 2009. Now, the bad news. Despite the sharp drop, over 9 lakh newborns died in 2009, the highest in the world. The most comprehensive newborn death estimates so far - covering all 193 countries and spanning 20 years released by the World Health Organization, Save the Children and the London School...

The truth about the Indian media’s increasing reliance on revenues from news that has been paid for, has long been shrouded in half-truths, corporate denials and misleading information in carefully sifted reports sent out by regulatory bodies. While the national media, flush with high TRP ratings and advertising revenues, is patting itself on its self-righteous back for relentless coverage of the public protests against corruption in high places, it is...

The absence of a law regulating surrogacy makes India, especially Anand, a top destination for couples from abroad. UNTIL about 2008, the future looked bleak for Sharadaben Solanki. A landless daily-wage worker in Anand, Gujarat, she earned a paltry Rs.600 a month. Her husband earned an equal amount working as a construction labourer. Together the couple supported three children and their parents. That was when she heard from Maganbhai, the owner of...