-The Hindu   The rising tide of female voters in 2014 might have had a concrete impact on the outcome of these elections, data shows. Despite the Election Commission's efforts to get more women registered to vote, the number of female electors (those registered to vote) grew much slower than the number of male electors, between 2009 and 2014, The Hindu found. Men registered to vote outnumber women by over 40 million, giving...

-The Indian Express   Contrary to conventional wisdom, the UPA lost despite an inclusive, growing economy.   Economists have been busy telling us that the economy decided the election result. We heard it during the campaign and they have been at it again in their post-mortems. They are wrong. Consider some evidence.   Most Indians live in rural areas. Elections are won and lost there. So for any government, it makes good electoral sense to look...

-The United Nations   The majority of the almost 3 million children who die before they turn one month old could be saved if they received quality care around the time of birth, according to the findings released today in a study supported by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), which is urging additional attention and resources for this group of children. "Focusing on the crucial period between labour and the first hours of...

-Down to Earth   Poverty line figures hide people's aspirations There are lies, damn lies and statistics, American author Mark Twain once wrote echoing a similar statement by the British statesman Benjamin Disraeli. Statistics aim to reveal a lot, but they conceal vital information. This concealing tendency of statistics explains much of the flak received by the Planning Commission when it released figures on the poverty line. In 2012, the commission announced that...

-The Times of India BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh may clock fastest growth rate in the country, but it still hugs the lowest rung in national rankings when it comes to primary education. This time though, the rankings are by Union HRD ministry and not a private foundation. Almost half of students of Class III in the state cannot read and understand simple text while one third cannot do addition and subtraction. The...