-The Hindustan Times The recently released Annual Status of Education Report (Aser) 2013, which covers every rural district in India, contains some good but mostly bad news. Enrolment in India's primary schools is still at an impressive 96%, and the number of schools compliant with the Right to Education (RTE) Act norms, such as providing drinking water and usable toilets, continues to rise. But much of this is undermined by a...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: At a time when people feel increasingly unsafe on the streets and spectre of terror attacks keeps security agencies on the toes, India stares at an abysmal police - population ratio of 106 policemen per one lakh people - less than half of the UN recommended figure of 222. Even at the senior level, 1093 IPS posts are lying vacant, according to the latest government...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Faced with intense pressure from Rahul Gandhi, the UPA government is likely to approach the President for his consent for the promulgation of ordinances on anti-corruption legislations. Sources in the Congress said the government is likely to take up the matter with the President shortly. Rahul himself indicated that the ordinance route was on. "These bills were in national interest and we felt the opposition would help...

A nation's prosperity is determined to a large extent by the health care received by its female population. India's maternal mortality is down but we still have miles to go before we come close to achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets (Please see the links and graph below). The latest available figures released by the Office of Registrar General (India) provide some interesting trends on maternal health indicators. It...

-Down to Earth RTI reponse of Union health ministry shows states with better health track record have reported higher number of vaccine deaths How accurate is the enumeration of deaths caused by the five-in-one pentavalent vaccine in India? Reports from different states show information about adverse events following immunization (AEFI) is not very reliable. It would be difficult to reach any conclusion about the efficacy of the vaccine on the basis of...