-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Women voters outstripped men in as many as 13 states and Union territories in the Lok Sabha polls which concluded on Sunday. The new entrants to this club are Bihar and Uttarakhand, the only states in the north to figure on this list. In 2014, 10 states and UTs had seen more women than men voting, but within the then undivided state of Andhra Pradesh, the...

-PTI “Pollution does affect health, but to create such a panicky situation and say millions of people are dying, I do not agree with that” New Delhi: Union minister Harsh Vardhan has discredited the recent global reports claiming over one million deaths in India due to air pollution, saying such studies are only aimed at “causing panic”. The Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Chandni...

-The Indian Express Indian statistical system can withstand political pressures. Legislation and public scrutiny can strengthen it further. One unfortunate fallout of the recent controversy regarding the non-publication of the labour force survey report by the National Sample Survey Organisation has been the questions raised on the autonomy and independence of the Indian official statistical system. As reported in this newspaper, the possibility of junking the survey report in favour of...

-ThePrint.in CPR report says healthcare centres don’t meet standards designed by health ministry in terms of infrastructure, manpower, medical equipment and drugs. New Delhi: Not a single rural healthcare centre in 15 Indian states meets the bare minimum quality standards — set by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare — such as establishing essential infrastructure, employing the minimum mandated manpower apart from buying required medical equipment and drugs. The findings are part...

-National Herald Well-known Belgian-Indian economist Jean Drèze, reflects on the times we live in this animated conversation with Ujjawal Krishnam Jean Drèze, the Belgian-Indian economist, true to his reputation, laces humour and an acerbic wit to reflect on the times we live in. Self deprecating, he brushes aside the question how he juggles between his roles as economist, activist and teacher. He wonders at the multi-tasking ability of Indian women instead. Nor...