Census sheds new light on changing nation Though half of all Indians do not have a toilet at home, well over half own a telephone, new census data released on Tuesday show. These and many other contrasting facts of life have come out in Census 2011. The data on housing, household amenities and assets cast new light on a country in the throes of a complex transition, where millions have access to...

-The Hindu   Dr. Manmohan Singh Prime Minister of India March 12, 2012 Dear Prime Minister, We welcome the tabling of a National Food Security Bill in the Lok Sabha as an important step towards the elimination of hunger and undernutrition in India. However, we feel that the Bill in its current form has some serious shortcomings. We are writing to propose a simpler and more effective framework for the Public Distribution System (PDS), which requires...

With 230 million people under-nourished, the country awaits some comprehensive policy intervention from the government to tackle this haunting crisis. One of the most logical measures would be to provide a fixed amount of foodgrain to all citizens. But wouldn't the costs be enormous, ask sceptics? The Center for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA), a Delhi-based think tank, crunched all the numbers and came up with the answer. It would take...

-The Telegraph Around 30 economists, including former NAC member Jean Dreze, today urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to do away with categorisation of beneficiaries under the proposed national food security bill. Dreze, who was part of the Sonia Gandhi-headed council, and the others have written to Singh saying the bill has “serious shortcomings” that needed to be removed. The bill, pending in Parliament, provides for subsidised grain for up to 75 per cent...

Almost half the women born in India are married off before they turn 18, while 18 per cent of them are below 15, according to a Unicef report that shows legal and other measures have done little to curb child marriage. Among those married, 22 per cent became mothers before they got the right to vote. The figures are part of a report brought out by the organisation on the State of...