The world is experiencing a change in the geographic Distribution of diseases. Traditionally, infectious diseases, which claim the lives of so many children, affected poor countries, and noncommunicable diseases like diabetes, cardiac ailments and cancer plagued rich countries. But the latest statistics released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Friday show that the income level of nations is no longer so important, and that all countries now face the burden of...

The Planning Commission has defended the poverty line cut-off and urged the Supreme Court not to “interfere with the methodology developed by experts over the years to estimate the incidence of poverty.” However, it left a window for the court to direct an upward revision of the limit —daily consumption expenses per head of Rs 20 in urban areas and Rs 15 in rural areas at 2004-2005 prices — saying “these...

Gujarat government has launched a separate unique identity (UID) project for every individual residing in the state, finding that the Government of India`s UID project under top I-T honcho Nandan Nilekani is still largely on paper. Under this project, every individual living in Gujarat will have a separate UID number, which will feature several details-whether the person is below poverty line (BPL) or above poverty line (APL), and whether he pays...

-ToI   The government patched together an intricate—and flawed—fertiliser system over the last 40 years. It now wants to dismantle that monster. The challenge before it is to preserve its pro-agriculture and pro-poor objective, while correcting the flaws that crept in, reports M Rajshekhar If it all goes to plan, buying or selling fertiliser will never be the same for the 120-odd companies that make up this Rs 1,00,000 crore industry or...

The health and women & child development ministries have refused to give an affidavit to the Supreme Court on how many children die of hunger in India every year. UNICEF says 50% of all the deaths of children aged below five years are from malnutrition. That works out to 2,438 children dying every day for lack of food. But no one in the government is ready to stick its neck out...