KEY TRENDS   • Maternal Mortality Ratio for India was 370 in 2000, 286 in 2005, 210 in 2010, 158 in 2015 and 145 in 2017. Therefore, the MMRatio for the country decreased by almost 61 percent between 2000 and 2017 *14    • As per the NSS 71st round, among rural females aged 5-29 years, the main reasons for dropping out/ discontinuance were: engagement in domestic activities, not interested in education, financial constraints and marriage. Among rural males aged...

Despite growing threat to food security from global warming, India is busy acq-uiring fertile lands for industries and infrastructure. Something terrible is happening to the weather. And it is happening right across our home. From the cold desert of Ladakh to the plains of Bihar and Jharkhand, extreme weather conditions have played havoc. In neighbouring Pakistan, unprecedented floods, and that too in the arid region of Sindh, have hit more than...

Despite growing threat to food security from global warming, India is busy acq-uiring fertile lands for industries and infrastructure. Something terrible is happening to the weather. And it is happening right across our home. From the cold desert of Ladakh to the plains of Bihar and Jharkhand, extreme weather conditions have played havoc. In neighbouring Pakistan, unprecedented floods, and that too in the arid region of Sindh, have hit more than...

In some remote villages in India, which are most unlikely to pose as models of development, a quiet rejuvenation is taking place, with communities learning to adapt to the climate change reality of the country today. Everyone knows by now that one of the foremost signs of climate change for the country is the changing pattern of the monsoon. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has already forecast shorter yet...

The farming community has welcomed chief minister M Karunanidhi's promise to supply free motors to small farmers. Cauvery Delta Farmers' Welfare Association secretary, S Ranganathan, said, "We appreciate the chief minister's gesture. I request the government to give submersible motors instead of mono-block ones. Also, a majority of small and marginal farmers don't have power connection. The state should look at the possibility of providing motors and power connections to...