-BBC Good health data is rare in India. The last time the country published a comprehensive, state-wide survey was back in 2007. So why hasn't a vast survey of women and children carried out by the Indian government with the UN agency for children, Unicef, been released? India's so-called Rapid Survey of Children was a huge undertaking. Almost 100,000 children were measured and weighed and more than 200,000 people interviewed across the country's...

-Tehelka To avail the scheme's benefits, a 60-year-old woman in Bahraich was shown to have delivered a baby five times in 10 months, while another who never conceived in 12 years was paid Rs 1,400 as honorarium by the health department. An audit of Janani Suraksha Yojna beneficiaries in Uttar Pradesh has come up with some startling facts. To avail the scheme’s benefits, a 60-year-old woman in Bahraich was shown to have...

-Deccan Herald Many of India's agricultural practices have barely changed in decades. Reform is long overdue. Nearly a quarter of a century after India launched its first big liberalising reforms in 1991, setting off a new spurt of growth, one area of the country’s economy remains hardly touched: farming. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a 24-hour, state-run television channel for farmers in May, but has fostered no public debate about how to improve...

-Down to Earth New WHO-UNICEF report warns that lack of progress on sanitation would undermine gains from access to safe drinking water India has achieved very little in the last 20 years when it comes to eradicating open defecation. Also, India is one among two countries (along with Namibia) which have the largest gap between their richest and Poorest people in terms of facilities for open defecation. These facts were highlighted in a...

-Asian Age Children born in India are, on average, shorter than those born in sub-Saharan Africa. Even worse, 255 million Indians remain food insecure, eating less than 2,100 calories daily. Jharkhand reports the lowest per capita calorie intake (1,900 Kcal) in rural areas, while West Bengal hovers similarly (1,851 Kcal) in urban areas. We have attempted to meet this challenge through legislation. Aside from the Right to Food Bill, the landmark...