-The Indian Express India continues to be successful in preventing child deaths, but the health and nutrition of the surviving, living child has deteriorated, somewhat worryingly. The recently released fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) provides new and reliable evidence to assess some dimensions of micro-development performance before COVID struck. The survey covers health, nutrition (of mother and child) and the overall quality of lives. In a recent piece on...

Commenting on the recently released fifth round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) data for 17 states and five Union Territories (UTs) in an article published in The Indian Express (dated 6th January, 2021), Arvind Subramanian and his co-authors have stated that India has made progress on certain outcomes, including infant mortality rate (IMR), under-five mortality rate (U5MR) and neonatal mortality rate (NNMR). Relying on various rounds of NFHS data,...

-Hindustan Times The grim development comes just a month before India is set to witness a second migration period. Thousands of birds have died due to different variants of bird flu in Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, prompting the Centre to issue an alert to the states to monitor their health in forest areas and near water bodies. The Union ministry of fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying on Wednesday pointed...

-Down to Earth It is a novel idea; but in a country where the ruling class openly favours corporates, it could prove disastrous for farmers India’s agriculture sector makes a significant contribution to its Gross Domestic Product and provides livelihood for many millions of people. Agriculture is not only a means of trade and a source of livelihood, but is fundamentally associated with our culture. Today though, farmers are distancing themselves from farming...

-Livemint.com With a slew of development targets getting pushed back to at least 2030, what visions and goals are realistic? The year 2020 was bleak. And while the calendar changes, things may not change all that much until the public health benefits of a mass vaccination campaign kicks in. Meanwhile, it is important to take stock of where India’s development dreams stand and where the country can go from here. Many visions and...