-The Indian Express Pune: A modest yet consistent decline in the infant mortality rate, especially in six problematic states, is one of the key features of the latest data from the Sample Registration System. Nationwide, the IMR has dropped by three points from 47 infant deaths per 1,000 live births to 44, according to the October 2012 SRS bulletin. It has dropped to 48 from 51 in rural areas , and...
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Blundering on land and Aadhaar-Praful Bidwai
-Pratirodh.com The fanfare with which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi launched a service delivery scheme in Rajasthan based on the Aadhaar (foundation) unique identity (UID), and celebrated the issue of the first Aadhaar number topping the 200-million mark, should make the Indian National Congress a very worried party indeed—assuming it has a good survival instinct and basic grasp of practical politics. To put it starkly, the Congress and...
More »The roots of poverty: Ruinous healthcare costs-Anirudh Krishna
-Live Mint While natural disasters grab our attention, everyday events like illness drag most people into poverty In a small town of Gujarat, I met Chandibai, a woman, about 50 years of age. Fifteen years previously, her husband, Gokalji, had owned a general-purpose shop in the town centre. The family also owned a house and some agricultural land. In 1989, Gokalji developed an illness that confined him to bed, sometimes at home...
More »Driving the wrong way on road safety -G Ananthakrishnan
-The Hindu India’s roads are deadlier than ever. The high rates of death and disability expose the lack of an organised system of traffic management and safety. Road safety is no one’s responsibility. It is time to make someone accountable. On the final day of this year’s ‘puja’ season in Chennai, a particular roadside temple near the iconic Central Railway Station had the long annual line of vehicles — vans, tempos, taxis,...
More »Plan panel to have discretionary powers on release of funds to States -Aarti Dhar
-The Hindu Giving itself discretionary powers on release funds to States under various Central schemes, the Planning Commission has decided to restructure 16 Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) into Additional Central Assistance (ACA) Schemes. The new funding pattern will be effective from 2013-14. While restructuring the CSSs will give more flexibility to the States to utilise the funds, it will also give the Planning Commission absolute control over the quantity of money to...
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