-Livemint.com National Family Health Survey finds child malnutrition, maternal mortality rates have declined significantly in the 13 states including in Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal New Delhi: A large part of India has shown substantial improvement in health of its citizens over the past decade, a new government survey says. Results from the first phase of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) 2015-16 show that child malnutrition, as well as...

-The Indian Express New crop insurance scheme is welcome. Its litmus test: Whether crop-damage assessment can be done within two weeks of the extreme weather event and compensation paid a week after that The Narendra Modi-led government needs to be complimented for taking the first major step to revamp the crop insurance system to address the increasing distress in Indian farming. With back-to-back droughts, and unseasonal rain and hail in certain...

-Business Standard Weather forecaster Skymet says good winter rains are expected over most parts of India in the next few days Sowing of wheat in the week ending January 15 was less than last year, because of less sowing area in the rainfed areas of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Low residual soil moisture and unusually warm weather in this season has impacted rabi sowing in these parts. However, with the weather turning cold in many...

-The Indian Express A renewed funding squeeze may undermine MGNREGA’s recent revival, fear civil society activists. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme which guarantees 100 days of wage employment per year to rural households, may have staged a revival in the last two quarters after showing a declining trend in person-days generation during the first year of the Narendra Modi government. But the turnaround could well be temporary,...

Representatives of around 20 civil society organizations and NGOs met the Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley as part of pre-budget consultation on social sector on 12 January, 2016. Immediately after the pre-budget consultation, a press conference was held by some of these organizations to convey the media persons what demands/ suggestions were made.   Subrat Das, Executive Director of Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA, http://www.cbgaindia.org/) informed us that during...