New EPF enrolment during Sep., 2017 to Apr., 2018 confined to a few industries & states, indicates data
A document of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) dated 25th June, 2018 says that the number of members subscribing to the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) scheme give one an idea of the level of employment in formal sector viz. mostly employment in establishment employing 20 or more persons (though EPF is applicable for certain organisations, which employ less than 20 persons, subject to certain conditions and exemptions). The updated estimates on enrolment in EPF scheme released on 25th June and then again on 20th July this year prove that the total formal sector employment may not have grown that much between September, 2017 and March, 2018 as was calculated earlier on 25th May, 2018. The modified estimates of payroll data, which was provided by the MoSPI on 25th June this year, indicates that 34.4 lakh net new subscribers were added to the EPF scheme between September, 2017 and March,...
New Save the Children report reveals insecurity of teenage girls from the outside world, but are our homes safe enough?
Released in May this year, a study by Save the Children has found that if you are an adolescent girl living in the country, you are most likely to be afraid about being harassed outside your homes viz. in public places. Entitled WINGS 2018 - World of India's Girls: A study on the perception of girls' safety in public spaces, the study shows that nearly one-third of teenage girls surveyed were afraid of travelling narrow by-lanes of their locality, apart from the road which they take to go for school or the local market. Nearly, one-fourth of adolescent girls residing in rural areas felt unsafe while using open spaces/ agricultural fields for open defecation at dawn. The report by Save the Children, which is based on a sample survey (non-probability sampling technique used) undertaken in six states of the country, namely Assam, Delhi-NCR, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana and West Bengal,...
1,648 people died every year during 1953-2016 due to floods or heavy showers, shows recent CWC data
The Central Water Commission (CWC) has released the state-wise and national-level annual data on human and economic costs associated with floods or excessive rainfall for the last 64 years at a time when the North East is devastated by nature's fury. That data indicates that on an average 3.2 crore Indians were affected by floods or excessive rainfall every year between 1953 and 2016. Floods or downpours took a heavy toll on human lives (1,648 per annum) as well as cattle lives (94,104 per annum) during this period. According to the latest available CWC data, which was released in May this year, roughly 2.6 crore Indian citizens on an average were annually affected by floods or excessive rainfall between 2007 and 2016. However, in the previous decade viz. 1997-2006, a much higher number of Indians (viz. 3.4 crore citizens) on an average were affected annually by the natural calamity. At the...
In terms of ease, citizens of Nagri block in Ranchi dislike the pilot cash transfer-based PDS, reveals social audit
The outcome of a social audit (conducted in April this year) related to the pilot cash transfer programme in the public distribution system (PDS) in Nagri block (Ranchi district) has confirmed that most beneficiaries want back the normal ration system that existed previously. Yet the Jharkhand state government continues with the DBT-based PDS in Nagri block, instead of returning back to the older system, says a press release by the Right to Food Campaign dated 21st June, 2018. When it comes to ease, instead of a direct benefit transfer (DBT) -based system for purchasing subsidized food grains from fair price shops (FPS), 96.9 percent of the 8,370 respondents (viz. ration card holders) of the social audit survey, belonging to 46 villages (from 13 Gram Panchayats) of Nagri block, conveyed that they prefer the old ration system. However, 2.4 percent respondents felt that the DBT is a better option. Readers may note...
Maternal mortality ratio is falling but more effort required to catch up with China
The country's maternal mortality ratio (MMRatio) exceeds that of China by a huge margin, which not only indicates the poor status of women in our society but also the miserable functioning of health system, among other things. However, there is some good news around the corner to cheer about. Recently released data by the Sample Registration System (SRS) bulletin indicates that for the country as a whole the MMRatio has declined steadily from 398 in 1997-98 to 130 in 2014-16, which is a fall by 67.3 percent. During 2014-16, the lowest MMRatio was found in Kerala (46.0), followed by Maharashtra (61.0) and Tamil Nadu (66.0). On the contrary, Assam (237.0) has the highest MMRatio, followed by Uttar Pradesh/ Uttaranchal (201.0) and Rajasthan (199.0). Although the country's MMRatio has reduced by 22.2 percent between 2011-13 and 2014-16, it went down by 6.2 percent between 2010-12 and 2011-13. Please consult the...