-Down to Earth   Poverty line figures hide people's aspirations There are lies, damn lies and statistics, American author Mark Twain once wrote echoing a similar statement by the British statesman Benjamin Disraeli. Statistics aim to reveal a lot, but they conceal vital information. This concealing tendency of statistics explains much of the flak received by the Planning Commission when it released figures on the poverty line. In 2012, the commission announced that...

-The Hindu   If Gujarat is a model, then the real toppers in development indicators, like Kerala and Tamil Nadu, must be supermodels In an earlier article published on this page ("The Gujarat Muddle," April 11, 2014), I pointed out that Gujarat's development achievements were hardly "model" class. This is pretty firm ground: the same point has been made by a long list of eminent economists. Yet confusion persists, so I decided to...

-Live Mint   India had the highest number of maternal deaths according to the latest UN report   New Delhi: India had the highest number of maternal deaths, accounting for almost a fifth of the global total in 2013, according to the latest UN report.   In 2013, maternal deaths in India stood at 50,000, or 17% of such deaths across the world, the report said. Global maternal mortality has, however, dropped 45% in 2013 compared...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: Indians approaching their silver innings seem most worried about their ability to foot their medical expenses in future, found an online survey. Respondents above 45 years rated high out-of-pocket spending on health above fears about physical and mental wellbeing. While life expectancy is up, thanks to medical advances, this generation is more likely to be living their sunset years alone as the young migrate for work. "As they...

-The Economic Times   If there are two statistics that summarise a nation's overall well-being, these are the infant mortality rate (IMR) and the maternal mortality rate (MMR). India has registered remarkable progress on both fronts over the last decade. IMR has declined 28% from 58 in 2004 to 42 in 2012. MMR has come down 36% from 280 in 2005 to 178 in 2012. The decline has been more spectacular in some...