-The Indian Express The SNCU at Nashik civil hospital had attracted national attention after it reported the death of 55 newborn babies in August. The deaths, according to officials, were largely due to the high number of sick infants being admitted. Akola: On September 30, Sarla Velurkar realised she was in labour around midnight. Her home, in Dhamangaon village, is just a few minutes away from the rural hospital at Warwat-Bakal...

-The Hindu Popularly quoted figure of 28% is not accurate; here’s why Chennai: Go digital or else. Since demonetisation, the government has been sending out this stern message to citizens who are still wedded to cash transactions. But to go digital, a key prerequisite is access to the Internet. How many Indians have it? Official statistics suggest that the number is as high as 28% of the population. But as with most statistics, digging...

-The Hindu Association for Democratic Reforms says the income of national parties from unknown sources increased by 313% The total income of national and regional political parties between 2004-05 and 2014-15 stood at Rs. 11,367 crore, with the highest of Rs. 3,982 crore being the Congress’s share. However, 69% of the income of these parties was from unknown sources, according to an analysis done by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The income...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: In the eleven years between 2004-05 and 2014-15, political parties of all colours, including ones which swore by transparency, got contributions worth more than $1 billion (Rs 6,800 crore) from unknown sources, a study by an independent think tank says. The historic financial `performance' of these parties which raked in more than Rs 11,000 crore in total income (this includes the Rs 6,800 crore) during this...

Cash transfers are now suggested by many as a silver bullet for addressing the problems that plague India’s anti-poverty programmes. This article argues instead for evidence-based policy and informed public debate to clarify the place, prospects and problems of cash transfers in India. By drawing on key empirical findings from academic and grey literature across the world an attempt is made to draw attention to three aspects of cash transfers...