-The Hindu Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal and Kerala directed to enforce culling in sick birds Avian flu has been reported at 12 epicentres in four States — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala. Directions have been given to enforce culling in sick birds as per the government’s 2015 National Avian Influenza Plan, according to a press statement from the Ministry of Fisheries and Animal Husbandry on Wednesday. In these States, cases of...

-The Indian Express India continues to be successful in preventing child deaths, but the health and nutrition of the surviving, living child has deteriorated, somewhat worryingly. The recently released fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) provides new and reliable evidence to assess some dimensions of micro-development performance before COVID struck. The survey covers health, nutrition (of mother and child) and the overall quality of lives. In a recent piece on...

Commenting on the recently released fifth round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) data for 17 states and five Union Territories (UTs) in an article published in The Indian Express (dated 6th January, 2021), Arvind Subramanian and his co-authors have stated that India has made progress on certain outcomes, including infant mortality rate (IMR), under-five mortality rate (U5MR) and neonatal mortality rate (NNMR). Relying on various rounds of NFHS data,...

-Livemint.com Over 1.8 million vehicles were sold across India last month, 10 percent higher than December 2019, vehicle registration data suggests. This is the FIRst time during the pandemic that vehicle registration data has shown a year-on-year increase India’s economic recovery appears to have picked up pace over the past few weeks, led by the largest states of the country. All four high-frequency indicators of economic activity considered in Mint’s monthly state...

-The Indian Express Considering the critical importance of agriculture for livelihoods, health, food security, and also keeping in mind the vulnerability of Indian farmers, it is necessary to go beyond reductionist expediency in considering agricultural reforms. In his speech on December 25, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the three controversial farm laws will finally deliver justice to the vast majority of small farmers who have been ignored by successive governments. As...