A solar tracking system can make a major difference to the output from two solar photovoltaic (PV) projects located in the same area and having the same or similar PV modules and balance-of-plant systems. However, decisions regarding the use of a tracker can often be difficult for developers and may involve significant trade-offs between increased output, and the cost of installing a tracking system and maintaining it.

Since the beginning of HIA (Health Impact Assessment) development, environmental risk factors have been one of the targeted groups of health determinants—besides the social ones. In this commentary, we would like to discuss some methodological aspects and potential uses of the quantitative estimation of the health impact of outdoor air pollution.

In the early weeks of January 2012, a report of four cases of tuberculosis from Mumbai, India, stirred up a storm.1 India bears a giant's share of the world's multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) burden, but these cases were different even though they came from a centre (Hinduja Hospital and Research Center) which has been reporting on the alarming escalation in drug-resistant TB in Mumbai over the last two decades. (Editorial)

Data for trends in contraceptive use and need are necessary to guide programme and policy decisions and to monitor progress towards Millennium Development Goal 5, which calls for universal access to contraceptive services. The researchers therefore aimed to estimate trends in contraceptive use and unmet need in developing countries in 2003, 2008, and 2012 .

India’s Wholesale Price Index (WPI) infl ation, which serves as the main policy indicator has shown some decelerating trend since 2010-11, but continues to rule high well above the comfort zone of 4.0-4.5% a year.

This paper provides an ethnographic account of the changing facets of marginality for the Musahars of Uttar Pradesh. It takes a close look at how their identity is shaped by the resistance of those at the margins, by politics, and by interventions on the part of external agencies. The research deconstructs (i) the everyday resistance of the Musahars, as evident from their songs and poetry; (ii) the talk of state officials and state policies about Musahars; and (iii) the discourse of social activists, organisations and donor agencies.

Despite the steps towards gender responsive budgeting, the budgetary allocations for promoting gender equality and women's empowerment show a decline. The gender budget statement in proportion to the total expenditure of the union budget as well as the projected Gross Budgetary Support for Women and Child Development in the Twelfth Five-Year Plan has decreased. Will this affect its ambitious gender agenda?

Pakistan’s enormous macroeconomic, internal, and human security challenges coexist alongside the opportunity created by a huge desire for change. With democracy taking root and a new constitutionally ushered era in state governance, The Lancet Series about Pakistan and health focuses on health as a nation-building and social-welfare agenda at a time of unprecedented social upheaval and economic hardships in the country. We call for a unified vision for the goal of universal and equitable health access. We provide recommendations for six objectives for policy and action.

Non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, cancers, respiratory diseases, diabetes, and mental disorders, and injuries have become the major causes of morbidity and mortality in Pakistan. Tobacco use and hypertension are the leading attributable risk factors for deaths due to cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and respiratory diseases.

Globally, Pakistan has the third highest burden of maternal, fetal, and child mortality. It has made slow progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5 and in addressing common social determinants of health. The country also has huge challenges of political fragility, complex security issues, and natural disasters. We undertook an in-depth analysis of Pakistan’s progress towards MDGs 4 and 5 and the principal determinants of health in relation to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health and nutrition.