 Online edition of India's National Newspaper Wednesday, Jun 30, 2010 ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| National |
|
News:
ePaper |
Front Page |
National |
Tamil Nadu |
Andhra Pradesh |
Karnataka |
Kerala |
New Delhi |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Engagements |
Advts: Retail Plus | Classifieds | Jobs | Obituary |
National
NEW DELHI: Vice-President M. Hamid Ansari on Tuesday expressed serious concern over the plight of children in India and pitched for top priority for their development with a focus on eradicating malnutrition. In his inaugural address at the ‘Statistics Day – 2010' celebration function here to commemorate the birth anniversary of Late Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, a recognised global leader in statistics, Mr. Ansari said: “The commitment to make children a priority of our development agenda...exists,” using statistics to present the sorry plight of children in the country. “India is home to one-fifth of the world's children [around 440 million] and they constitute 42 per cent of our population. These young citizens of the country constitute a potential demographic resource that could propel the nation to higher orbits of economic progress and human development. Realising the potential, however, cannot be taken for granted,” he said. Noting the appropriateness of the theme ‘Child statistics' for the function, Mr Ansari said: “The reality is in stark contrast. Every third malnourished child in the world lives in India; every second Indian child is underweight; three out of four children in India are anaemic; and every second new born has reduced learning capacity due to iodine deficiency.” In this backdrop, Mr. Ansari said it was heartening that various ministries and departments have agreed to set up an ‘India Forum on Child Statistics' as an institutional mechanism comprising all major stakeholders dealing with child related issues to foster coordination and collaboration. It would also improve the credibility and transparency in the collection and reporting of statistical data on children and the families they come from. “This should enable compilation and tracking of national indicators on the well-being of our children across all population segments and presentation of data in terms understood by a non-technical audience,” he said. Mr. Ansari also released a statistical publication titled ‘Mid-Term Statistical Review of Millennium Development Goals - India Country Report 2009' to mark the occasion, and conferred the national award in statistics to renowned statistician Prof Alok De. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 3 lakh and a citation.
Printer friendly
page
News:
ePaper |
Front Page |
National |
Tamil Nadu |
Andhra Pradesh |
Karnataka |
Kerala |
New Delhi |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Engagements |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | The Hindu ePaper | Business Line | Business Line ePaper | Sportstar | Frontline | Publications | eBooks | Images | Ergo | Home |
Copyright © 2010, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|