-The Economic Times Dinkar Patil, a farmer from Buldhana district in Vidarbha, Maharashtra, normally cultivates cotton on his 13-acre farm land. This year, however, he has skipped the cotton crop and opted for soyabean and tur dal. "The rainfall started late. I did not cultivate cotton because of the delayed rains and the huge increase in cost of cultivation of the crop," said Patil. He is expecting a fall of about...

-Accountability Initiative/ RaghuBytes Unless you have a blocked nose, I strongly suggest that you do not drive from Bhubaneshwar the capital of Orissa, to Kandamahal, a remote tribal district, particularly in the evenings. At twilight, when you begin to wind into the interior, you are greeted with the sight of the behinds of the entire population squatting on the roadside, faces turned away and shitting. We quickly wound up the windows...

-The Hindu "Antenatal care is very important for health workers to detect mothers with obesity or diabetes... both specific risks during pregnancy," says Dr. Flavia Bustreo, Assistant Director General at WHO. In 2013, globally, preterm birth complications were responsible for 15 per cent (0.96 million) of deaths in children under five years of age. It is a leading cause of death in neonates (0-27 days after birth). According to WHO, about 15...

-Associated Press BUNDAPANI (AP): Death arrived soon after the Bundapani tea estate closed last year. Deprived of health care and food rations, workers who had been scraping by on $1.50 per day were left with nothing. Bundapani's owner failed to raise the alarm as hundreds of workers slid into catastrophe. "I have become like a beggar," said Ramesh Mahali, 59, struggling to stand. He has been unable to properly feed himself or his...

-Live Mint Roughly seven out of every 10 Indian workers have no paid leave, no written contract and no eligibility for social security Indian women might still be earning lower wages compared to men, but the gender gap in wages is fast decreasing. The average wage rate for women is now one-fifth lower than men's compared to a gap of 29.2% in 2004-05, shows data from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO)....