-Economic and Political Weekly   This paper proposes an approach to periodically measure the extent of progress towards universal health coverage using a set of indicators that captures the essence of the factors to be considered in moving towards universalisation. It presents the rationale for the approach and demonstrates its use, based on a primary household survey carried out at the district level. Discussing the strengths and limitations of the approach, it...

There is some good news amid gloom! Preliminary findings of a survey in India as quoted by the Global Nutrition Report 2014 shows that prevalence of malnutrition among children aged below 5 years has come down between 2005-06 and 2013-14, even though we have a long way to go. (See links and bullet points below). The survey on malnutrition and hunger, called the Rapid survey on Children (RSOC), was conducted after...

-Down to Earth Farmers want drought to be declared; government dilly-dallies According to the second survey carried out by the Revenue Department of Maharashtra, more than 20,000 villages in the state have received less than 50 per cent agricultural yield this year. The state has a total of 43,722 villages. This means that close to half the state is in an agricultural crisis. An earlier survey had put this number at a mere...

-The Hindu The Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) launched in 2011 to enumerate castes along with socio-economic data, is progressing, and is likely to be completed soon. A stand-alone caste headcount may not normally be desirable in a country grappling with the adverse consequences of social hierarchy and caste-based divisions. However, in conjunction with socio-economic data, a caste census may yield quantifiable data that could be used to evaluate measures such...

-The Hindu A survey commissioned by the Ministry of Human Resource Development simplistically records poverty and academic disinterest as major reasons for children dropping out of school. A survey commissioned by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, in September shows that out of the estimated 20.41 crore children in the age group of 6-13 in India, an estimated 60.41 lakh (2.97 per cent) are out of school. This proportion of out-of-school children...