Gary Singh’s abduction ordeal illustrates the dangers faced by those who rely on smugglers to make their way overseas One day in 2006, 18-year-old Gubachan “Gary” Singh, an illegal immigrant in Manila, Philippines, was on his way to work when he was approached by four stocky Filipinos. One pulled out a gun, pressing the barrel into the small of his back, while another blindfolded him and shoved him into a van....

The first results of Census 2011 put India's population at 1,210 million, indicating a demographic transition. CENSUS 2011 is the 15th one undertaken in India since 1872 and the seventh after the country attained Independence. While there have been stray historical references to population counts of one kind or another in earlier periods over much smaller territories within the territory that constitutes present-day India, the consensus view is that the...

Six items prioritised for Prajapatham The State Cabinet has identified six priorities for this year's Prajapatham mass-contact programme proposed to be held from May first week to solve the people's identified problems. They are drinking water supply and sanitation; implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) with emphasis on arresting migration of labour; social security benefits like pensions and ration cards; disbursement of arrears to self-help groups under Pavala Vaddi...

A campaign to spread awareness on the MNREGS through two television commercials failed to penetrate the rural masses because of faulty planning, an impact assessment study by the Union Ministry of Rural Development has found. The MNREGS awareness campaign was aired on cable and satellite channels in UP, Rajasthan, Bihar and the National Capital Region from January 23 to March 23, 2010. Seven months after the campaign, the ministry decided to conduct...

India is now home to 17.5% of humanity, as the population touched 1.21 billion, up 17.4% from 2001, according to the provisional figures of the 2011 Census. The rate of growth of population showed a sharp downward trend, and fell 3.9 percentage points from 2001. The country posted its worst child sex ratio since independence, as the ugly preference for the male child in many parts of the country zoomed alongside...