India is now home to 17.5% of humanity, as the population touched 1.21 billion, up 17.4% from 2001, according to the provisional figures of the 2011 Census. The rate of growth of population showed a sharp downward trend, and fell 3.9 percentage points from 2001. The country posted its worst child sex ratio since independence, as the ugly preference for the male child in many parts of the country zoomed alongside...

We come to know about gender discrimination only through the media. Our knowledge about latest global or local gender reports is also media-dependent. But what do we know about the media’s own record of allowing space for women’s voice? The good news is that the mass media is beginning to come under the scanner on this count but the bad news is that the media’s own record is quite dismal. A...

Andhra Pradesh has retained its place as the fifth most populous State in the country with a head count of 8.46 crore, recording an 11.10 per cent growth rate over 2001 census. The increase in population was 84.55 lakh. The provisional 2011 census figures released here by Y.V. Anuradha, Director of Census Operations, on Thursday, showed a male population of 4.25 crore and 4.21 crore that of female. The State registered 11.10...

India's population rose to 1.21 billion people over the last 10 years — an increase by 181 million, according to the new census released today, but significantly the growth is slower for the first time in nine decades. The population, which accounts for world's 17.5 per cent population, comprises 623.7 million males and 586.5 million females, said a provisional 2011 Census report. China is the most populous nation acounting for 19.4...

Later this week, the Registrar General of India (RGI) will unveil the first flush of its findings from the 15th census. This once-in-a-decade effort is the seventh in independent India and is expected to showcase an entirely new set of vital statistics, consistent with the ongoing social and economic transformation of the country and something that should enthuse demographers and policy planners alike. Expectations are that the array of socio-economic data...