-The Economic Times Data released by the Planning Commission on Monday showed that poverty had significantly declined between 2004-05 and 2009-10. The catch is that this decline is based on a poverty line that is even lower than the earlier Rs 32-per-day mark that had triggered an outrage when the government submitted it to the Supreme Court.  The new estimates are based on a poverty line that averages Rs 672.8 per month...

-Reuters   Cheap generic drugs were meant to change the life of Nandakhu Nissar, whose mouth is swollen by a cancerous tumour. But the cashless and hungry 55-year-old sleeps on a pavement staring up at the windows of Mumbai's biggest cancer hospital.  "What is a generic drug?" shrugs Nissar, who has travelled over 1,500 kms (900 miles) from his home in the hope of treatment. "I have borrowed money from friends and relatives...

-First Post A ten percent spike in food prices could push 30 millions more people into extreme poverty in India, a report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has said. Ironically,  data released by the Planning Commission on Monday showed that poverty had declined significantly between 2004-2005 and 2009-2010.In absolute terms, there were 35.5 crore poor people in 2009-10 against 40.7 crore five years earlier. As per the data, poverty across the...

-PTI Planning Commission on Monday further reduced poverty line to Rs 28.65 per capita daily consumption in cities and Rs 22.42 in rural areas, scaling down India's poverty ratio to 29.8 per cent in 2009-10, the estimates which are likely to raise the hackles of civil society. An individual above a monthly consumption of Rs 859.6 in urban and Rs 672.8 in rural areas is not considered poor, as per the controversial...

The first-ever India Human Development Awards Manav Vikas were announced in New Delhi. Kottayam in Kerala, Khargone in Madhya Pradesh; Udupi in Karnataka and Malda in West Bengal have been recognized for excellence in the quality of Human Development Reports for their districts. The overall award for excellence went to West Bengal with two districts amongst the eight finalists.  The Manav Vikas India Human Development Awards, instituted by the Planning Commission...