The more things change, the more they remain the same. Probably, this can be said about the ‘Sample Registration System Statistical Report 2012', which carries the latest figures on the social sector by far. The report has provided some interesting trends in child mortality indicators for India and its bigger states during 2012 (see the links below). It says that states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, which have consistently...

-PTI The year 2012 saw a total of 39,512 cases registered under the SC/ST Act while the conviction rate in those stood at a dismal 23.8 per cent, Parliament was told. Sharing the data on cases under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act), 1989, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment added that 83.1 per cent of these cases were pending in courts. According to the report, 10 states...

-IANS Discussed on the interim outcomes of a pilot project initiated in October 2012 to address their social exclusion Policy makers, experts and civil society representatives met here Tuesday to discuss the social inclusion of sex workers and transgenders in three high-prevalence HIV states - Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka. The meet was jointly hosted by the National Mission for Empowerment of Women (NMEW) and the Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR). The...

-The Hindu A NABARD scheme has led to the revival of the nearly-extinct variety of paddy PUDUKOTTAI (Tamil Nadu): A farmer of Marundhanthalai village near here has revived a paddy variety, garudan samba, which was on the verge of extinction. Adopting bio-cultivation practices and the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) technique, the farmer R. Ganesan raised the 160-day- crop under the Farm Innovation Promotion Fund scheme of the National Bank for Agriculture...

-The Hindu KANCHEEPURAM (Tamil Nadu): Till yesterday a group of 21 women self-help groups in Avalur and Oothukaadu hamlets near Wallajahbad were producers of horticultural products. From Friday, they have taken up direct sales of a portion of their harvest in Kancheepuram town. While greens are raised on about 30 acres at Oothukaadu by 15 SHGs, others are engaged in cultivation of vegetables such as radish, brinjal, tomato on about 20 acres...