-TheWire.in A claim of an 8.4% real GDP growth rate has little relevance even as rural India battles plummeting wage levels, depleted incomes and widespread unemployment. With the release of the GDP figures for the quarter ending September, the government machinery has been in full swing advancing the narrative that economic growth is indeed back on track. However, sorely missing from these narratives is the inconvenient factoid on the currently dismal state of...

-The Hindu The Socio-Economic Caste Census, 2011 was organised not as an OBC survey but to get the caste status of all in the country in order to improve the delivery of targeted benefits, the Centre said. The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the law negated a caste census and “the Constitution believes in population and not in caste or religion” even as the Centre insisted that data collated during a Socio-Economic...

-Hindustan Times NFHS-5, the most comprehensive survey on socio-economic and health indicators in the country, shows some surprising demographic transitions. The Union health ministry released the summary findings of the fifth round of the National Family and Health Survey (NFHS-5), conducted in two phases between 2019 and 2021, on November 24. NFHS is the most comprehensive survey on socio-economic and health indicators in the country. While the results of the first phase...

-The Hindu The onus is on the government to ensure that there is a robust system of public data production and use When evidence-based policymaking becomes the cornerstone of good governance, it is difficult to overstate the importance of reliable and timely public data. Such data have a direct bearing on the state’s capability to design and implement programmes effectively. Among the emerging economies, India is credited to have a relatively robust...

-Newsclick.in BJP wants to turn farmers into daily wage workers in the corporate sector, says the author of the report that analyses the economic status of farmers who died during the ongoing protests. On 26 November 2020, waves upon waves of farmers descended upon India’s Capital. Barricaded from entering Delhi, they pitched tents at three border crossings on the outskirts of the city. They have resolutely stayed there since then, braving the...