-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The steady decline in infant deaths in Indian states appears to be faltering in some while progressing well in others, according to fresh data for 2014 released by the Census office based on an annual sample survey. Some of the more backward states like Assam, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh did well in bringing down infant deaths, but Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand showed an alarming...

Although public goods are meant for everyone to enable living life with human dignity, certain groups are systematically deprived to access them, says a new report from the Centre for Equity Studies -- a NGO based in Delhi. Put differently, not all sections of the society are able to access or enjoy public goods and services on an equal footing, despite social justice being one of the key provisions of...

-Business Standard A recent report suggests different ways to eliminate poverty and argues that accelerated growth is the most suitable medicine to reduce incidence of poverty Adding some and modifying some others is how the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is planning to go about its welfare programmes in the coming days. While the Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS) is likely to be extended to some private schools, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Several parents in northern India seeking treatment for children with congenital heart disorders appear to favour boys over girls, a team of cardiologists reported today, corroborating earlier findings that gender bias may be denying even life-saving health care to girls. The cardiologists at the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital in Ludhiana have said that even the promise of free treatment has not eroded the underlying gender bias among...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: A day after Rajasthan's Phalodi recorded the country's highest temperature ever of 51°C, the India Meteorological Department said the frequency of severe heat waves had increased sharply in the past 15 years. Most heat-affected states have no plan in place to prevent mortality and morbidity associated with extreme heat. IMD officials said the average frequency of severe heat waves had doubled from 50 days a year...