-The Hindustan Times India has earned the dubious distinction of reporting most under-five child mortality in 2011 in the world, says a new United Nations global estimate on child mortality. The United Nations Children Fund report to be released in New York on Thursday says that 16.55 lakh children below the age of five died in India in 2011, almost six times more than the similar figure for China. About 2.49 under five deaths...

-The Telegraph India’s research output measured through its scientific papers has improved over the past decade but four in 10 research papers by Indian scientists remain uncited, a report has said. The first government-commissioned independent analysis of research by Indian scientists has found that the country’s share of world research output has modestly increased from 3.1 per cent in 2007 to 3.7 per cent in 2011. The analysis by Thomson Reuters Intellectual Property...

-The Hindustan Times The coal ministry took away 40 blocks that had been allotted and "explored in detail" by Coal India Limited (CIL), a PSU, so they could be handed over to private parties, a CAG report has said. These 40 came from a chunk of 48 blocks de-reserved from CIL's kitty in May 2006. As of June 2011, of the 48 blocks , nine blocks remained unallocated, three were de-allocated after...

-The United Nations A new United Nations report advocates that governments use fiscal and labour market policies to reduce income inequality, maintaining that this not only leads to social benefits but will spur economic growth and development. Produced by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Trade and Development Report 2012 says that recent experience, especially in Latin America and other developing countries, suggests that progressive taxation and rising public...

-The Hindu A Planning Commission draft document has made proposals that fail to reflect the case for expanding and improving public-funded medical services and reining in private operators In the health sector, the buzz these days is all about Universal Health Care (UHC). While health activists see in it potential to ensure access to quality health care for common citizens, commercial bodies seem to be eyeing the huge scope for profit from...