There is no case whatsoever to construct a single poverty line based on a calorie or expenditure norm; all such lines are arbitrary and do not take into account the different dimensions of poverty. It is far better to focus on disaggregated information on a variety of parameters – education, housing, clothing, health, etc – which can give us unambiguous information about the different facets of poverty over the course...

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday warned India that feminization of its ageing population could lead to a rapid increase in its number of widows. Reacting to a TOI story that showed how the majority of India's elderly are now women, WHO's representative to India Dr Nata Menabde said the trend has significant consequences for the health of older women. She said, "Women's longer life-spans compared to men, combined with the...

Places of worship outnumber educational institutions by two to one in Punjab and hospitals and dispensaries by more than four to one, census data released on Saturday has revealed. The data on houses, household amenities and assets released by Director, Census Operations, Seema Jain, on Saturday, shows the State's 2.77-crore population is served by 63,244 places of worship — but only 31,228 schools and colleges, both private and public.. Similarly, the...

Tobacco-related cancers and cervical cancers caused most cancer deaths Cancer killed 5,56,400 people across the country in 2010. The 30-69 age group accounted for 71 per cent (3,95,400) of the deaths. In 2010, cancer alone accounted for 8 per cent of the 2.5 million total male deaths and 12 per cent of the 16 million total female deaths in this age group. These are some of the findings of a paper published...

-The Times of India The provisional population figures up to the tehsil-level released by the directorate ofcensus operations, Rajasthan, on Wednesday showed an overall decrease in the child population in the 0 to 6 years age group and a clear divide on the social issue between rural and urban areas.  The child population of both the boys and the girls in rural areas has decreased between 2001 and 2011, while the same...