Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh fare better India is now ranked among the 50 nations with highest under-five child mortality rate. It has been placed at number 46 in the list of 193 countries. India’s neighbours Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh protect their newborns much better and rank 52, 59 and 61 respectively, according to Unicef’s latest ranking. The report—State of the world’s children 2012: children in an urban world— was released on...

-Economic and Political Weekly   Mamata Banerjee cynically casts aspersions on a rape victim to further her political agenda. When rape becomes a political power game, every woman, not just a rape survivor, has reason to be afraid. What this suggests is that, for people in the political battlefield, the seriousness of this violent crime and the increasing incidence of rape in our towns and villages are of no concern. This has become...

India looks to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure on health in 12th Plan Ahead of the 12th Five Year Plan, which aims to focus on health, the Union ministry of health and family welfare called a one-day national consultation to deliberate social determinants of health. The outcome would influence health policies for the next Plan period, beginning April. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), social determinants like poor economic status, lower social status,...

Amnesty International on Thursday said that ten years after the Gujarat riots “an overwhelming majority” of the victims were still awaiting justice and urged the authorities to ensure adequate compensation to all those who lost their homes. Those who were still living in transit camps should not be evicted, it said. “The majority of the perpetrators of the Gujarat violence walk free, assuming that they will not be punished by the State...

Modern India continues to be plagued by social and health ills like child marriage, early motherhood and domestic violence.  Latest data in the "State of the World's Children report 2012" released by Unicef on Wednesday shows that almost 22% women in India, who are now aged between 20 and 24 years gave birth to a child before they turned 18.  Almost 45 among every 1,000 births are born to mothers in the...