-The New Indian Express The government needs to understand that better official statistics are required not just to counter estimates by global agencies. It is required for better policymaking. The government is upset with the estimates of the World Health Organisation (WHO) about how many Indians died because of the pandemic. India’s official Covid-19 death count in 2020 and 2021 is 481,000. The WHO puts India’s death toll at 4.7 million till...

-Down to Earth New government report finds fewer indigenous individuals among these species, although experts blame non-registration of breeds as a reason. The origins of over half of India’s cattle, sheep, goats, horses, ponies, mules, donkeys and pigs are not known, according to a new report on the country’s livestock released by the government recently. The country’s water buffaloes too have fewer purebred individuals, although its camels still have that distinction according to...

-The Hindu International Food Policy Research Institute projects scenario for 2030 India’s food production could drop 16% and the number of those at risk for hunger could increase 23% by 2030 due to climate change, says a report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) on climate change and food systems. These projections are part of a model that was used to evaluate the impact of climate change on aggregate food production,...

-TheWire.in * According to the Union health ministry’s new Rural Health Statistics report, for 2020-2021, primary health centres have a surplus of doctors. * This could be true – although there are doubts about whether the report included the number of doctors on transitory, ad hoc appointments as well. * The report fails to capture the qualitative aspects of doctors’ availability at PHCs, including a hidden problem motivated by the absence of sufficient...

-Bengal Development Collective Migration has been an essential component of socio-economic and political change. People move away from their birthplace in search of a better livelihood, a safer neighbourhood, or a more inclusive society. Migration is a big indicator of the existing social and economic disparities between the place of origin and the migrant’s destination. As economic centres become centres for migrants, they gain access to cheaper labour, bolstering their own...