Madhya Pradesh, Democratic Republic of Congo show near identical poverty level India ranks 63rd in the new poverty index, after Togo, before Haiti Quarter of the world lives on $1.25 a day or less: World Bank estimate New U.N. index builds up fuller picture of poor lives; Madhya Pradesh ‘comparable to Congo.' There are more poor people in eight states of India than in the 26 countries of sub-Saharan Africa, a study reveals...

India's abysmal track record at ensuring basic levels of nutrition is the greatest contributor to its poverty as measured by the new international Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI). About 645 million people or 55% of India's population is poor as measured by this composite indicator made up of ten markers of education, health and standard of living achievement levels. Developed by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) for the...

Mangalore air crash highlights two petitions highlighting safety violations in the Mangalore tabletop airport, dismissed by the Karnataka High Court in ’92 and by the Supreme Court in ’02 Apex court dismisses petition against mining in Niyamgiri hills in 2008; now a global focus point The same year, the apex court dismisses PIL against the building of the Commonwealth Games village on the Yamuna riverbed. Why has the UPA government, which loses no...

Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday ruled out any coercive policies to stabilise population and said awareness among the people of the benefits of small families was the most effective way to achieve the goal. Speaking at a function to flag off a run to mark the World Population Day, the Minister said population stabilisation was extremely important, given that India has a share of 17...

Young rag-pickers sifting through rubbish are a common image of India’s chronic poverty, but destitute children face new hazards picking apart old computers as part of the growing “e-waste” industry. Asif, aged seven, spends his days dismantling electronic equipment in a tiny, dimly-lit unit in east Delhi along with six other boys. “My work is to pick out these small black boxes,” he said, fingers deftly prising out integrated circuits from the...