The share of total expenditure on medical and healthcare is comparatively higher for an average rural citizen than his/her urban counterpart, reveals the latest available National Sample Survey Report (68th Round) entitled Level and Pattern of Consumer Expenditure 2011-12.   Although an average urban Indian spends nearly 84 percent higher than his/her rural counterpart in a month, the share of total outlay on medical expense* is higher in case of the...

-Down to Earth 68th Round of National Sample Survey makes it amply clear that the wave of economic growth has not percolated down from the 0.003 per cent of population of ruling elite (as per Income Tax records, only 42,800 persons have taxable Income more than Rs 1 crore in India). 99.996 per cent population is spending between just Rs 25.90 and Rs 37.36 per capita per day (average MPCE) in...

-The Hindu The dropout rate remains troublingly high Private school enrolment continues to rise, but the already low levels of what children are learning in schools - both government and private - continue to fall, new data shows. The Hindu is reporting exclusively on the findings of the 2011-12 round of India Human Development Survey (IHDS), a representative national sample of 42,000 households, carried out by the National Council for Applied Economic Research...

-Down to Earth Demand income security and sustainability, and redressal of grievances relating to land matters which they say are the biggest source of corruption and mis-governance The apathy of successive governments of Andhra Pradesh towards the deepening agrarian crisis has resulted in farmers groups organising themselves to put pressure on political parties during election time. The Rythu Swarajya Vedika, an umbrella organisation of various farmers' groups and non-profits working in the...

-Down to Earth   Data taken from 121 health surveys and 36 countries has been analysed Economic growth has little or no effect on the nutritional status of the world's poorest children, finds a study jointly conducted by various organisations. The study was based on child growth patterns in 36 developing countries and has found that economic growth in these countries was associated with small or no declines in stunting, underweight, and wasting-all signs...