-PTI Two decades of economic reforms and drum beating about inclusive growth seem to have failed to change the face of rural India as 10 per cent of the population live on less than Rs 17 a day. According to a government survey released for 2011-12 on household consumer expenditure, "The poorest 10 per cent of India's rural population had an average monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE) of Rs 503.49 per month." Their...

-Inclusion.in There is good news. And there’s bad news. The good news first. There’s been a bumper wheat crop and the granaries are overflowing. And the bad news? Where do we begin? A lot of that grain will rot. Millions will still remain hungry. Heavily in debt and distressed, farmers are committing suicide. Food prices are soaring. There’s more… Farmers don’t have money. Their land is too small and isn’t yielding much. Fertilisers and...

-The Hindu Hygiene and sanitation will be the focus of the next round of sample survey across the country that will begin on July 1. K.P. Unnikrishnan, Deputy Director-General, National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), South zone, said here on Monday that source and availability of drinking water and housing conditions too would be included in the survey. In the south of Karnataka, including Bangalore district, 76 villages and 116 urban blocks have been...

-The Hindustan Times Bollywood star Aamir Khan had two simple prescriptions for a Parliamentary committee to reduce high health costs for citizens. First, make doctors prescribe generic medicines rather than brands. Second, set up a regulator to ensure big pharmaceutical don’t take over smaller ones and monopolise the medicine market. Khan and his team were invited on Thursday by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce headed by BJP MP Shanta Kumar, which...

A government report lends credence to the notion of “two Indias”, or the distinction between “India” and “Bharat” – a theme often debated in recent years. At a time when urban India is growing and policy makers have expressed clear preference for the trend, this report, by National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), brings India’s deep urban-rural divide into focus, showing disparities in scale and levels of expenditure and consumption and, equally...