A high maternal mortality ratio (MMRatio) indicates low status of women in the society apart from poor functioning of the health services delivery system. Recently released data by the Sample Registration System (SRS) bulletin indicates that for the country as a whole the MMRatio has steadily declined from 398.0 in 1997-98 to 122.0 in 2015-17, which is a fall by -69.3 percent. Table-1 shows that India's MMRatio was 398.0 in 1997-98,...

-The Telegraph The activists were speaking against the backdrop of the govt weakening the RTI architecture through amendments The Supreme Court judgment bringing the Chief Justice of India’s office under the Right to Information Act was welcomed by RTI activists but some of them disagreed with the observation of one of the judges that the “right to information should not be allowed to be used as a tool of surveillance to scuttle...

-Livemint.com * Only about half of the states have made any effort to reduce vacancies in police, judiciary and prisons * The legal aid system mandates that 80% of the Indian population is eligible to avail free legal services, says the report NEW DELHI: The first comprehensive analysis of India’s manpower and capacity for justice delivery has painted a bleak picture of the ecosystem in terms of its various elements —police, prisons and...

  The newly released Global Tuberculosis Report 2019 finds that among the five risk factors behind TB cases in the country, undernourishment posed the greatest risk. Close to 7 lakh TB cases in India could be attributable to undernourishment during 2018. The other four risk factors behind TB cases were alcohol consumption (around 3 lakh TB cases), smoking (nearly 2 lakh TB cases), diabetes (more than 1 lakh TB cases) and HIV...

-The Hindu Patience and perseverance are required to get information under the RTI When journalists seek information under the Right to Information Act (RTI), 2005, there are many surprises in store: the information is often denied or responses to queries are partial because the “information is not available”, or “doesn’t pertain” to the department contacted, or is stated to be under the category of exemptions (any information which could affect the sovereignty...