-Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Health Minister, has said that the government is confident of reducing the newborn (birth to 28 days) mortality rate to single digit long before the 2030 target date. The present death rate is 29 per 1,000 live births. For this are required simple, cost-effective interventions before and immediately after delivery. Inaugurating the Indian Newborn Action Plan (INAP) here today,...

-The United Nations While child survival rates have increased dramatically since 1990, one million babies each year do not see their second day of life, many succumbing to complications during labour and delivery that could be easily prevented with simple, cost effective interventions, according to a report released today by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The 2014 Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed progress report - the second in a...

-The Indian Express The MGNREGS stands out as one of the Indian government's most ambitious social schemes, with far-reaching consequences throughout the economy. The only known recipe for poverty eradication is a combination of high growth and high development spending. Neither is sufficient. A recent study (Kapoor and Ahluwalia, 2012) has shown that post-liberalisation, one champion of poverty reduction in India is Andhra Pradesh. This reduction in poverty is widespread, as...

-The Indian Express For a government that won office on the plank of fighting corruption and promising ‘‘achhe din'' to citizens disgruntled by poor service delivery, one would have thought putting in place an effective anti-corruption and grievance redressal framework would be a top priority. However, after 100 days of being in power, the Modi sarkar's report card on transparency and accountability disappoints. It is well established that openness in government functioning...

-Deccan Chronicle We are faced with two crises on a planetary scale - climate change and species extinction. Our current modes of production and consumption, starting with the Industrial Revolution and aggravated by the advent of industrial agriculture, have contributed to both. If no action is taken to reduce greenhouse gases, we could experience a catastrophic 4°C increase in temperatures by the end of the century. But climate change is not just...