-The United Nations   Rates of maternal deaths are down, according to United Nations figures released today, but pre-existing medical conditions heighten the risk of death for pregnant women and require continued investment in quality care during pregnancy and childbirth. An estimated 289,000 women died in 2013 from complications in pregnancy and childbirth, down from 523,000 in 1990, according to the UN World Health Organization's (WHO) Trends in maternal mortality estimates 1990 to...

-Down to Earth   India's first PM born after Independence will face the old problem of poverty eradication India may have its first post-Independence-born prime minister this June. But what difference would it make in terms of the country's development agenda? How will the new prime minister face the challenges that have been there since before Independence? Or, what are the developmental challenges the new prime minister may find difficult to address? Arguably,...

-PTI     United Nations: India is placed at the 111th position out of 189 countries in a list prepared by an international organisation that ranks nations on the number of women representatives in Parliament. The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), an international organisation of Parliaments, said in its annual analysis that more women than ever before are being elected to Parliaments around the world, with gender parity likely achievable in less than a generation...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Opposition parties and activists who have been campaigning against private discoms and tariff hikes slammed the government's decision to increase the subsidy on power consumption on Tuesday. While BJP criticized the move, Congress said it is analyzing the implications of the subsidy announcement. BJP said money meant for welfare schemes would be spent on the increased subsidy. "He is giving subsidy to people at the cost...

-Newsclick.in Recent studies have shown that even as India fares better than many developing regions of the world on several indicators of growth and development such as GDP, per capita, Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), literacy, life expectancy, etc., the number of malnourished children in India is significantly high. What explains this paradox? The Union Cabinet recently approved a multi-sectoral nutritional programme proposed by the Ministry of Women and Child Development to reduce...