The Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls - Sabla - is likely to be launched in 200 select districts on November 14, celebrated as Children's Day in the country. The Scheme is aimed at addressing the multi-dimensional problems of adolescent girls between 11 and 18 years and would be implemented through the platform of Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) projects and anganwadi centres. Over one crore girls are expected...

Sharda, a 17-year-old mother, gave birth to her first child in February in a village in Noida, just a few hours' drive outside New Delhi. Though her son was born premature and weak, he received no treatment. In many parts of India, particularly in poor and marginalized communities, a woman is considered impure for a fortnight after giving birth. After labor, Sharda was relegated to a makeshift room outside her...

A common incidence of rotting food grains has been reported in India and the Philippines even as millions are starving. The problem has to be tackled with dexterity at both the domestic and regional levels to curb this alarming wastage of food that contributes to food insecurity at large. RECENT NEWS reports from the Philippines and India interestingly surfaced with one common problem -- rotting food grains in both countries, even...

Dispur has decided to set up a children welfare trust to adopt a holistic and comprehensive policy for physical and mental wellbeing of every child living in Assam. The trust will be headed by chief minister Tarun Gogoi and include personalities like industrialist Ratan Tata as its member. The government will formally float the trust on November 14 on the occasion of Children’s Day. Health and family welfare minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told...

It isn't called God's own country for nothing — going by life expectancy statistics, Kerala will be the best place in India to be born in, followed by Delhi. An average Indian, in 2021, will live four years more than today. But Keralas average will exceed India's by about six years. According to the Union health ministry's latest projections, the life expectancy at birth (LEB) the average number of years...