KEY TRENDS  • The eight leading cause-groups of deaths in 2008 based on Medical Certification of Cause of Death are: 1. Diseases of the Circulatory System; 2. Certain Infectious and Parasitic Diseases; 3. Injury, Poisoning and Certain Other Consequences of External Causes; 4. Diseases of the Respiratory System; 5. Certain Conditions Originating in the Perinatal Period; 6. Neoplasm (C00-D48); 7. Endocrine, Nutritional, Metabolic Diseases; and 8. Symptoms, Sign and Abnormal Clinical...

KEY TRENDS   • During 2014-15, while procurement of foodgrains (rice and wheat) increased from 56.9 million tonnes to 60.2 million tonnes, offtake of foodgrains (rice and wheat) from the PDS decreased from 59.8 million tonnes to 55.9 million tonnes. Despite increased availability in the PDS and prevalence of high inflation in foodgrains, dependence on the PDS is reducing, suggesting that there may be issues of availability, timely availability and quality of the PDS foodgrains...