-The Telegraph Even as it is busy trying to resolve other people's conflicts in so many parts of the world, the United Nations has recently created a conflict of its own. It began innocuously enough. The organization has always tried to get consensus around matters on which it is often very difficult to arrive at such consensus. The usual strategy to achieve this is to sufficiently water down the language in its...

-Sunday Pioneer A cluster of villages engaged in weaving the exquisite Benarasi sarees is in the midst of a serious health crisis. More than 1 lakh people from this once prosperous region have fallen prey to aggressive tuberculosis. Poor living conditions, working in dark rooms and constant inhalation of minute silk threads have weakened the lungs of these artisans. With an average monthly income of not more than Rs3,000, it is...

The more things change, the more they remain the same. Probably, this can be said about the ‘Sample Registration System Statistical Report 2012', which carries the latest figures on the social sector by far. The report has provided some interesting trends in child mortality indicators for India and its bigger states during 2012 (see the links below). It says that states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, which have consistently...

-Press Information Bureau (Ministry of Women and Child Development) The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted during the U.N. Millennium Summit, 2000 by 189 countries including India consists of eight goals which are sought to be achieved during the period 1990 to 2015. The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) -1 is regarding Eradication of Extreme Poverty and Hunger, which have 2 targets namely, (i) Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the percentage of population...

-Press Information Bureau (Ministry of Women and Child Development) The Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) in the country are part of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme which is a centrally sponsored Scheme. At the AWCs, six services namely (i) Supplementary nutrition (ii) Pre-school non-formal education (iii) Nutrition and health Education (iv) Immunization (v) Health check-up and (vi) Referral services are provided for holistic development of 0-6 years of children. Pregnant &...