-The Hindu Bangalore (Karnataka): The State's Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), which has been a cause of concern in the past, has seen a significant fall in the last three years. From 178 per lakh live births in the period between 2007 and 2009, the State's MMR has come down to 144 in 2012, a decline of 34 percentage points. Although the State is still behind Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala,...

-Outlook Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government's 'Samajwadi Ambulance Service' may have been marred by controversy due to its name, but the ambulances under the scheme have seen the births of over 9,500 children in the state. "The ambulance service, which started on September 14 last by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has become birth place for 9,644 children. It included three families, which had twins and two families which had triplets. All these...

-Press Information Bureau (MoSPI) The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has released the key indicators of drinking water, sanitation, hygiene and housing condition in India, generated from the data collected in its 69th round survey during July 2012 to December 2012. Some of these subjects were covered in 65th round of NSS (July 2008- June 2009). Housing is a basic necessity of human well-being. Along with...

-PTI Kolkata: Retired sex workers from Asia's largest red-light district of Kolkata's Sonagachi, who are forced to live a life of penury after falling out of favour with customers because of advanced age, would soon be rehabilitated in a new home. As part of the West Bengal government's plan to rehabilitate disabled, sick and old sex workers living in Kolkata, two buildings would house the rehabilitation centres which would have all facilities...

-BBC A survey done earlier this year shows that public facilities in the poorest regions of India have steadily expanded, improving the lives of people there, writes development economist Jean Dreze. Once upon a time, not so long ago, public facilities in the poorest districts of India were few and far between. Most people were left to their own devices and they lived in the shadow of hunger, insecurity and exploitation, with no...