-SocialProgressImperative.org The 2014 Social Progress Index reveals striking differences across countries in their social performance, highlights the very different strengths and weaknesses of individual countries, and provides concrete guidance for national policy agendas. The Index is the sum of three dimensions: Basic Human Needs, Foundations of Wellbeing, and Opportunity. Each dimension is made up of four equally weighted individual components scored on an objective scale from 0-100. This scale is determined by...

-The Indian Express Data shows that the state is high on growth, low on development. What does this say about the government's priorities? No matter what the political leanings, many people have come to accept the premise that Gujarat has performed a lot better than the rest of India in terms of development over the last decade. People are even talking about the Gujarat model of development as something for the whole...

-PTI He noted that India's performance in poverty reduction and public welfare schemes is now lower even than that of poor countries Vested interests of individuals and "lobbying" among political parties is acting as impediment in India's quest for poverty reduction, noted economist Jean Dreze has said. The economist said it was "ironical" that during the peak period of the country's development, the corresponding indexes for poverty reduction, nutrition and Health status have...

-Down to Earth Kerala launches an on-line campaign on dalit and adivasi concerns On December 2, 2012, when Andhra Pradesh Assembly passed a legislation to give legal protection to the special funds meant for the welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) communities, it was described as historic. The Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan (Planning, Allocation and Utilisation of Financial Resources) Act of 2012, first of its kind...

-Down to Earth Grand old party of India renews some old promises and makes some new ones, but will Congress live up to its promises if it wins a third term? The Indian National Congress (INC) presented its manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on Wedneday. The manifesto committee claimed the 48-page document was prepared after wide consultations by engaging millions of people, grassroots congress workers and every section of the...