Commenting on the recently released fifth round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) data for 17 states and five Union Territories (UTs) in an article published in The Indian Express (dated 6th January, 2021), Arvind Subramanian and his co-authors have stated that India has made progress on certain outcomes, including infant mortality rate (IMR), under-five mortality rate (U5MR) and neonatal mortality rate (NNMR). Relying on various rounds of NFHS data,...

-The Indian Express Prolongation of these so-called criminal cases is unconscionable, as is forcing vulnerable people into remaining in hotspots of increased infection and fatal risk. Two recent incidents of Stan Swamy and Gautam Navlakha show up the state of our prisons today. Both are undertrial prisoners in the Bhima-Koregaon case. Both had to move the courts for the simplest of necessities. One, to get a sipper cup and a straw because...

-Vikalp.ind.in The sharp contraction of India’s GDP in 20-21 Q1 (April-June) of 23.9 per cent according to the quarterly estimates released by the National Statistical Organisation is a summary measure that need to be deconstructed to capture the ailing state of the Indian economy. The three sectors that suffered bigger contraction are respectively construction (-50.3%), trade hotels and restaurants (-47%) and manufacturing (-39.3%). Notably these are also the sectors that provided...

-Livemint.com * Rural spending is the only ray of hope for a ravaged economy. But will consumers rise to the occasion? * The income loss due to 30 million migrant workers returning home is a significant hit to household finances. Moreover, covid-19 has deeply affected an already bruised consumer psyche The locked rooms lining the courtyard of Dilip Patidar’s sprawling ancestral home once smelled like a spice box. That was some years ago...

-The Hindu The lockdown period saw the state abdicating its responsibilities towards the welfare of pregnant women In a shocking incident earlier this month, a pregnant woman died in an ambulance in Noida after being turned away from a number of private and government hospitals. This raises a chilling question for all of us: if this can happen somewhere so close to the nation’s capital, what is happening in the corners of...