-The Times of India Delhi has recorded the country's lowest death rate among major states. Around 4.3 people die here per 1,000 population at any given time as against Odisha, which has highest death rate at 8.5. In comparison, Maharashtra recorded a death rate of 6.3 (lower than the national average of 7.1), Tamil Nadu (7.4) and West Bengal (6.2). The Registrar General of India's (RGI) latest death rate data sent to the Union...

-The New York Times Blog The strength and direction of the Indian economy may be up for debate, but one remarkable fact is not: There has been massive growth in the number and wealth of billionaires in India since the economic liberalization measures in 1991. The phenomenon has often been compared to the United States’ experience in the latter part of the 19th century. This was a period evocatively described by Mark...

-Pratirodh.com The fanfare with which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi launched a service delivery scheme in Rajasthan based on the Aadhaar (foundation) unique identity (UID), and celebrated the issue of the first Aadhaar number topping the 200-million mark, should make the Indian National Congress a very worried party indeed—assuming it has a good survival instinct and basic grasp of practical politics.    To put it starkly, the Congress and...

-Live Mint While natural disasters grab our attention, everyday events like illness drag most people into poverty  In a small town of Gujarat, I met Chandibai, a woman, about 50 years of age. Fifteen years previously, her husband, Gokalji, had owned a general-purpose shop in the town centre. The family also owned a house and some agricultural land. In 1989, Gokalji developed an illness that confined him to bed, sometimes at home...

-The Hindustan Times Land acquisition for private projects will require the consent of 80% of landowners, the upcoming bill will stipulate. Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, who heads a group of ministers (GoM) on the bill, on Monday said the earlier decision to seek the consent of two-thirds - 66.6% - of the landowners has been revised. Congress president Sonia Gandhi had reportedly objected to the dilution of the consent clause -...