-The Indian Express Discussions of rural poverty fail to factor in multi-dimensional changes in the sector in the last five years Rural poverty in India has been the subject of discussion in recent times. Low increase in prices of agricultural commodities and the slower increase in rural agricultural wages have been seen by some as signs of a crisis for the rural poor. Many acknowledge the role of pro-poor public welfare...

  A high maternal mortality ratio (MMRatio) indicates low status of women in the society apart from poor functioning of the health services delivery system. Recently released data by the Sample Registration System (SRS) bulletin indicates that for the country as a whole the MMRatio has steadily declined from 398.0 in 1997-98 to 122.0 in 2015-17, which is a fall by -69.3 percent. Table-1 shows that India's MMRatio was 398.0 in 1997-98,...

-Financial Express If panchayat allocations are merged with MGNREGA to aid asset creation, it can trigger infrastructure growth, resulting in extra income and improved conditions. There is a lot of debate around 5% GDP growth and its impact on the organised sector. Although the government has been taking multiple steps to trigger the economy, there is a need to focus on rural India, in terms of optimising of fund allocations and revision...

  The newly released Global Tuberculosis Report 2019 finds that among the five risk factors behind TB cases in the country, undernourishment posed the greatest risk. Close to 7 lakh TB cases in India could be attributable to undernourishment during 2018. The other four risk factors behind TB cases were alcohol consumption (around 3 lakh TB cases), smoking (nearly 2 lakh TB cases), diabetes (more than 1 lakh TB cases) and HIV...

-Frontline.in The first ever Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey exposes the shocking state of Indian children’s nutritional status, but this is apparently not an issue of major concern for the government or the opposition. The findings of one of the largest nutrition surveys ever conducted in the country on the shifting conditions of undernutrition, over-nutrition and obesity expose the disconnect between the one-sided and much-eulogised India growth story and the abysmal state of...