Rise of 181 million in 10 years; decline in child sex ratio India's population has jumped to 1.21 billion, an increase of more than 181 million during 2001-11, according to provisional data of Census 2011 released on Thursday. Though the population is almost equal to the combined population of the U.S., Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Japan (1,214.3 million), the silver lining is that after 1911-21 the past decade (2001-11) witnessed the...

Minister Krishna Tirath stresses the need for proper implementation of women and child development schemes The lowest-ever child sex ratio of 914 overshadowed an increase in the overall sex ratio, which is now 940 — the highest nationwide since Census 1971 and a shade lower than 1961 — as it reflects a continued preference for a male child. As per the provisional data of Census 2011 released here on Thursday, while...

The Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday said there were 341 custodial deaths so far in the state since 1990. In a written reply to a question of NC member Javed Ahmed Rana in the legislative council, chief minister Omar Abdullah said 341 people died in police custody in the state since 1990. However, there was no report of any custodial death from Rajouri and Poonch districts. He said 113 people --...

Guess what hogs the news? In a country plagued by rural problems and social ills, it's politics and business that find the maximum coverage in newspapers and not health, education, agriculture or environment. A comprehensive study of 10 newspapers in five states from mid-September to mid- November 2010 by The Hoot, a media monitor, found that political news constituted the maximum - 15.7 percent of the total news items, followed by...

The Jammu and Kashmir government has for the first time shown willingness to amend or replace the Public Safety Act, which allows detention without trial for up to two years. The move follows human rights watchdog Amnesty International’s scathing criticism of the government for the law’s extensive use in the state in the past two decades. An Amnesty report, titled “A lawless law”, says that up to 20,000 people, including children, were...