India may well be on its way to becoming a superpower, but for millions of marginalized communities — transgenders, female sex workers, men having sex with men (MSM), intravenous drug users (IDUs) — the struggle to live a life with dignity and respect continues. These communities face an uphill battle for a government recognised identity card cutting access to nearly all welfare schemes. Representatives from 20 NGOs and community based...

KEY TRENDS   • Maternal Mortality Ratio for India was 370 in 2000, 286 in 2005, 210 in 2010, 158 in 2015 and 145 in 2017. Therefore, the MMRatio for the country decreased by almost 61 percent between 2000 and 2017 *14    • As per the NSS 71st round, among rural females aged 5-29 years, the main reasons for dropping out/ discontinuance were: engagement in domestic activities, not interested in education, financial constraints and marriage. Among rural males aged...

Kerala has done well in the field of higher education and holds much promise. But further policy initiatives are needed to sustain the momentum and prepare for future challenges. Kerala, almost alone among Indian States, has pursued a consistent and in many ways successful higher education policy. It educates 18 per cent of its young people, double the national average, and has universal literacy. It is worth looking at what might...

The government proposes to set up a national commission for human resources in health to plan for the adequate availability of human resource for health over the next 20 years. ‘‘We are also considering the establishment of a national commission for human resources in health (NCHRH) to be set up as an umbrella organisation addressing all aspects of human resource development in the health sector,’’ Union minister of health and family...

Bengal has the largest proportion of teenage mothers in the country, according to a data sheet prepared by the family planning division of the Union health ministry. The grim statistics emerged on a day the Lok Sabha discussed ways to control population and some MPs found merit in Sanjay Gandhi’s iron-fist policy. But Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad hastened to say “once bitten, twice shy” to make clear forcible measures...