Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu today wondered why Congress president Sonia Gandhi and general secretary Rahul Gandhi were silent on the mining mafia's activities in Andhra Pradesh, even as they spoke about Vedanta and other projects. "Sonia Gandhi is now talking about the mining mafia in Karnataka, while Rahul says he will fight like a solider for tribals in Orissa. Why don't they do the same in Andhra Pradesh...

KEY TRENDS   • Maternal Mortality Ratio for India was 370 in 2000, 286 in 2005, 210 in 2010, 158 in 2015 and 145 in 2017. Therefore, the MMRatio for the country decreased by almost 61 percent between 2000 and 2017 *14    • As per the NSS 71st round, among rural females aged 5-29 years, the main reasons for dropping out/ discontinuance were: engagement in domestic activities, not interested in education, financial constraints and marriage. Among rural males aged...

Chief economic advisor to the finance ministry Kaushik Basu says the government should step in and acquire land for development projects to protect the interests of farmers. He also explains why the government cannot tackle food inflation by distributing free foodgrain among the poor. Excerpts from interview with ET: A large number of land-intensive project have run into opposition. Could it actually undermine our infrastructure thrust and growth? There is...

Come October, migrants, believed to be fuelling India's HIV epidemic, will get a quick crash course on safe sex and dangers of risky sexual behaviour, just before they board their train to large towns and cities in search of work. In what will be one of the most ambitious interventions to combat HIV, the National Aids Control Organisation (Naco) has identified 68 main railway stations in districts across 11 states...

The Supreme Court today upheld the Uttar Pradesh government’s land acquisition for the Taj expressway linking Delhi with Agra, dismissing farmers’ contention that the land had been acquired for a “company” and not for a “public purpose”. The top court agreed with Allahabad High Court’s view that even if a private company — Jaypee Infratech Ltd — had paid all land acquisition costs, the acquisition would be considered for a public...