-The Times of India RANCHI: Wading past the surging devotees, Poonam Devi makes a desperate bid to reach a man walking a few metres ahead of her. Her struggle ends in vain as he disappears in the crowd out to witness the "rath yatra" that attracts thousands to the Jagannath temple every year in June-July. Tired and breathless, she stops to explain that he is the man who took her 14-year-old...

-The Times of India CHENNAI: If one goes by the latest statistics of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), every day 93 women are being raped in the country. According to NCRB data, there is a gradual increase in the number of rapes reported in India - from 24,923 in 2012 to 33,707 in 2013. Despite of several protests after Nirbhaya incident in New Delhi, the national capital continuous to be the unsafe city...

-The Times of India CHENNAI: An average of seven people die in building collapses in the country every day, according to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) statistics. More than 20 people were killed in two different building collapses in New Delhi and Chennai on Saturday. In 2012, a total of 2,682 people died and 850 people were injured in 2,764 accident cases across the country, according to the NCRB data. Uttar Pradesh recorded the...

India has witnessed many fiery debates on poverty estimates. Equally contentious has been the issue of inequality. Now a new report on exclusion offers a fresh perspective on poverty, inequality and social justice. (See below a summary of the report) Based on data and knowledge resources available in the public domain, India Exclusion Report 2013-14 highlights the systematic discrimination faced by women, Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Muslims, persons with...

-The Times of India   Honey, they've shrunk the city. Recently released census data shows that between 2001 and 2011, population in Mumbai, Kolkata and two inner districts of Delhi declined, while in Hyderabad and Chennai only a small increase took place. But surrounding regions of these cities showed phenomenal growth indicating a shifting center of gravity in metropolises. Declining populations in some of the metropolises is notable though unsurprising. These cities are...