-Hindustan Times London: There are 1.6 billion people living in multidimensional poverty across the world and nearly 440 million of them are in eight large Indian states, according to a new analysis using a unique index developed at the University of Oxford.   The eight Indian states that have similar number of poor as in 25 African countries are Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Odisha, Rajasthan and West Bengal. The poorest...

-The Indian Express According to government data, percentage of households without toilets in Odisha is an alarming 88 per cent. Odisha and Bihar, two states which have consistently demanded a special category status from the Centre on account of being backward, figure among the worst states in India when it comes to household toilets. According to the Baseline Survey – 2012 report of the Swachh Bharat Mission under the aegis of the Ministry...

-The Hindu Food inflation remained positiv, at 3.8 % compared to what it was in May 2014. Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation was -2.36 per cent in May, marking the seventh consecutive month in which it has been negative, compared to -2.65 per cent in April. Food inflation remained positive, at 3.8 per cent compared to what it was in May 2014. However, the consensus among analysts is that this will not...

-Tehelka The country has egg on its face but not in its diet, as the Global Hunger Index reveals acute malnutrition Swachh Bharat Mission, if implemented in a holistic fashion, holds the key to curbing not only the problem of diarrhoeal deaths for which India holds the world record, but also malnutrition. However, the World Toilet Summit, which was held in the national capital this year as part of the Mission, was...

The fourteenth Public Accounts Committee (2014-15) report, submitted to the 16th Lok Sabha in April this year, has found that despite various interim orders issued by the Supreme Court from time to time (based on a writ petition that was filed by People’s Union for Civil Liberties in April, 2001), the Government of India has failed to universalize the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme. This means India has to...