If the administration of the malnutrition-hit Melghat region in Maharashtra is to be believed, the region has seen a marginal decline in infant mortality rate (IMR) and child mortality rate (CMR) as compared to 2009-10. The infant mortality rate has come down from 54 to 48.19 per 1,000 babies, while child mortality rate has declined…
Attending a meeting with the Standing Committee on Law and Personnel, which is scrutinizing a bill to provide protection to those who help in unveiling corrupt practices, a group of NGOs demanded more security for whistleblowers and also asked for extension of the Right to Information Act to the private sector. The standing committee assured…
After completing her first fact-finding mission in the country, Margaret Sekaggya, rapporteur on human rights defenders appointed by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, warned that the space for civil society has contracted in India. She said that the country’s human rights defenders are more vulnerable. ‘I am deeply concerned about the branding and stigmatization of…
The Direct Taxes Code Bill, which is scheduled to replace the Income Tax Act from April 1, 2012, proposes that charitable and not-for-profit organizations (NGOs) will be allowed a basic exemption of only one lakh rupees and any income over it will be liable to 15 per cent tax. The bill also proposes to tax…
One month from now, nearly 21,000 kids from 30 schools in Chandigarh might not get their midday meal as NGO Swami Shivananda Memorial Institute will withdraw its services and not supply food. The NGO says it is not being able to meet the increasing expenses and cannot afford to provide a meal at a mere…
The United Nation’s (UN) human rights wing has come forward to help the families of Kashmiris who have been missing for the past two decades. The families allege that the missing were picked up by the security forces and never returned. Srinagar-based Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) has been appointed by the UN…
The data on cases registered for violation of human rights, gathered by National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), shows that Uttar Pradesh and Delhi account for 67 per cent of the total violations registered across the country between December 1, 2009, and October 31, 2010. Of the total of 78,657 human rights violations, 46,917 were reported…
The first-ever report tracking global progress against pneumonia, the leading killer of children under five years of age, finds that India is witnessing the highest number of pneumonia-related child deaths in the world. The infection is killing 16 lakh children under five every year across the globe, with more than 3.7 lakh in India alone….
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says obesity levels are rising fast in developing countries, with India being on the top.Between 1998 and 2005, India’s overweight rates increased by 20 per cent, the highest among the six countries – Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Russia and South Africa – that the study looked at. In…
Transcervical Reversible Female Contraception (TRFC) – a non-surgical and completely reversible alternative to tubectomy – will go into trials on humans in a year as the research project has got considerable funding from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The research is one of the two unique ideas from India that have won the prestigious Bill…
