-The Hindu India’s religious mix has been stable since 1951, says Pew Center study The religious composition of India’s population since Partition has remained largely stable, with both Hindus and Muslims, the two largest religious groups, showing not only a marked decline but also a convergence in fertility rates, according to a new study published by the Pew Research Center, a non-profit based in Washington DC. The study, based on data sourced from...

-The Hindu Census data in India are losing their relevance in the development agenda India is busy debating the caste census when the regular Census itself has not been conducted owing to the pandemic. It is quite ironic that various elections have been held, and people gathered together at large rallies flouting COVID-19 norms, while the Census has still not been conducted. This is the first time that India has not conducted...

-Hindustan Times The ex gratia will also be given to kin of Covid-19 victims who were involved in relief operations or associated with “preparedness activities”, the court was told. The Central government on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court that families of those who died of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) will receive an ex gratia of ₹50,000 from the state disaster response fund (SDRF). The ex gratia will also be given to kin of...

-The Hindu Increase in pulses production, especially toor dal crop The summer kharif season is likely to produce a record paddy harvest this year, pushing the country’s foodgrain production for the season to an all time high of 15 crore tonnes, according to first advance estimates from the Agriculture Ministry. However, oilseed production is marginally lower than last year, with both groundnut and soyabean harvests slightly, which could be bad news for soaring...

The Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households and Land and Livestock Holdings of Households in Rural India (NSS 77th Round), which was released recently, informs one about farm households' income in the crop year 2018-19 and indebtedness in 2019 (as on the date of survey), among other things. Prior to the recent report, Land and Livestock Holding Surveys (LHS) and Situation Assessment Survey (SAS) of Agricultural Households used to be...