Demography India, Vol 54, Issue 2 (May- August, 2025)
Intersecting Inequities: Health and Nutrition Among Vulnerable Populations: A Special Issue of Demography India

From the Chief Editor’s Desk

The editorial team is happy to present the second issue of Volume 54 (May-August 2025) of Demography India. This issue covers a diverse range of topics including gender equality and its impact on infrastructure, migration in the North Eastern states, seasonal labour migration in West Bengal, determinants of acute respiratory infections among rural children, measuring residential segregation, gender and health behaviour, impact of early marriage on reproductive health, prevalence and determinants of cervical cancer, status of ANC utilization among ST and Non-ST populations in Bihar, and projecting students’ enrolment among STs. A balance of macro and micro studies is maintained. I hope you will find it interesting.

The editorial team invites papers from senior demographers on any issue of their choice. This time we are including a paper entitled “Projected number of births and population for the Indian states and Union Territories during 2025-2050 under improved fertility” contributed by Georgia based, renowned bio-statistician, Prof. Arni S. R. Srinivasa Rao. It is hoped that such articles would help the demographic community focus on new issues facing the Indian society, and particularly on the vulnerable groups. Such articles do not go through the usual review process. Papers contributed by senior demographers, written jointly with their students/others are also welcome.

We are happy to share that we continue to receive good quality papers from diverse institutes, research centres, and universities in India and abroad—from both younger and established demographers and social scientists. We follow a rigorous, blind review policy and try to communicate our decision regarding the status of the paper as early as possible. By publishing these articles, we aim to showcase our unwavering commitment to disseminating new technical and substantive research findings in population research in India.

We extend an open invitation to all scholars to contribute their papers and articles on demographic changes and their socio-economic implications, health and nutrition, program implementation, and critical analysis of state policies. We would be happy to receive more papers based on qualitative methodology or method mix. We also want theoretical and empirical papers on marginalized groups like LGBTQ+ and forms of masculinities. We are confident that Demography India will continue to fulfil the theoretical and methodological needs of academicians, policymakers, and community organizations across the country.

We express our sincere gratitude to IASP President, Prof. Suresh Sharma, IEG, for supporting the activities of this journal. We also express our appreciation to all our reviewers for their valuable insights and timely feedback on the research papers submitted for publication. We are also thankful to the editorial staff of the IEG for providing support in publishing the journal. With the unwavering support of the demographic community in India and abroad—as well as the collaboration of social scientists working on population, health, and public policy issues—we aim to elevate Demography India to a new height of academic quality and impact. Together, we will shape a journal that continues to serve as a valuable resource for knowledge exchange and evidence-based decision-making.

We are deeply committed to maintaining the continuity and impact of the journal, ensuring its growth and relevance in the field of demography. The UGC CARE list of journals does not exist anymore. Thus, in the future status of the journal would be measured by your quality of contributions only. In addition to research papers, we would also welcome short research communiques, views on published articles, notes, and commentaries.

We would also be happy to receive books and reports for review in the next issue of the journal. If you have published a book or report and would like it to be included in the next issue, you may send two copies to Dr. Priyanka Yadav, IEG.
If you have any suggestions to improve the quality of the journal, you may contact the chief editor at arunk@iitk.ac.in or 4aksharma@gmail.com.

Arun Kumar Sharma, Senior Professor, IIT Kanpur (Ret.)
Chief Editor, Demography India

Foreword

It gives me immense pleasure to present this special issue of Demography India, which brings together a collection of 11 research papers developed under the RASTA (Research and Analysis for Scientific Transformation and Advancement). This special issue is a result of RASTA's effort to build a robust community of data-driven researchers, equipped to address the pressing challenges of India’s social sector through evidence-based insights and innovative approaches.

RASTA serves as a unique platform where early-career scholars are mentored by senior experts, enhancing their capacity to handle large-scale datasets and address critical development issues. RASTA platform has created a vibrant network of passionate researchers committed to advancing the quality and impact of social science research in India. The papers in this special issue reflect the diversity and depth of research nurtured through this mentorship-driven model. I congratulate the authors, their mentors, and the entire RASTA team for their relentless efforts in bringing this special issue to fruition. I am confident that the findings and insights presented in these papers will contribute significantly to India's ongoing dialogue on health, nutrition, and social well-being, inspiring further research and action.
With best wishes for continued success,

Dr. Niranjan Saggurti
Country Director, Population Council, India

About RASTA

RASTA (Research and Analysis for Scientific Transformation and Advancement) is a multi-institutional collaborative platform supported by multiple donors and led by the Population Council since 2018. It has been providing analytical support to various departments within the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), other Government of India ministries, development partners, and stakeholders to promote evidence-based decision-making for effective program and policy implementation. Through in-depth analyses of publicly available data, RASTA plays a critical role in strengthening the use of evidence within the health system. Initially focused on supporting the Family Planning (FP) division of MoHFW, RASTA has, since 2022, expanded its research scope to cover the broader RMNCHA+N spectrum. One of the unique aspects of RASTA is its commitment to capacity building of young Indian researchers through a structured mentorship model. This model aligns analytical training with real-world programmatic research questions, helping to cultivate a cadre of RASTA Scholars skilled in data-driven policy support.

Over time, RASTA has also initiated institutional partnerships with state-level research and academic organizations to ensure sustainable, long-term capacity strengthening in data use. This evolution marks RASTA’s growing commitment to building a culture of data-informed decision-making within public institutions, enhancing institutional capacities, and creating a pool of skilled researchers capable of supporting national and sub-national health priorities.

Since its inception, RASTA has mentored over 60 scholars and early-career researchers and has published more than 40 program and policy briefs, including contributions to the FP2020 and FP2030 initiatives. It has produced over 60 peer-reviewed manuscripts in high-impact journals. RASTA has also undertaken more than 40 data analysis and documentation exercises to inform health programs and policies. These milestones reflect RASTA’s sustained commitment to enhancing evidence-informed programme and policy implementation in India.

Punit Mishra
Lead, RASTA, Population Council, India