Articles by Abhishek Jha
Inequality worries bigger than what NFHS illustrates
In the first of a five-part data journalism series based on National Family and Health Survey (NFHS) data, HT's data and political economy team finds that India's inequality problem is far sharper than what is made out by the data

Updated on May 24, 2022 03:16 PM IST
Abhishek Jha, New Delhi
Heatwaves persist but some areas remain cooler than average
The plight of Delhi and large parts of north-west and central India is in sharp contrast with large parts of the country, which were actually cooler than historical average in the second week of May.

Updated on May 17, 2022 12:17 PM IST
Abhishek Jha, New Delhi
Why India’s booster roll-out needs a boost
The proportion of those not turning up for the booster dose has also been increasing with each passing day. Compared to current 86.1 million or 75% of those eligible, those who missed their third shot numbered 48.3 million or 68% of those eligible on April 10, the first day all adults became eligible for it.

Updated on May 14, 2022 11:30 AM IST
How will delimitation change electoral politics in Jammu & Kashmir?
The final order of the Delimitation Commission for the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir has created a political controversy in the erstwhile state

Updated on May 07, 2022 04:33 AM IST
Number Theory: What does CRS data tell us about India’s Covid deaths?
Niti Aayog member (health) VK Paul recently said the latest CRS numbers show that claims of India’s official Covid-19 death toll being gross underestimates are untrue. An HT analysis shows that this conclusion is best reserved.

Updated on May 05, 2022 01:03 PM IST
India registers fewer births in pandemic year: CRS data
A total of 24.22 million births and 8.12 million deaths were registered in India in 2020, according to a CRS report released on May 3 by the Office of the Registrar General of India under MHA.

Updated on May 04, 2022 11:40 AM IST
49% of Indian workers are employed outdoors in scorching heat
Over the past few weeks, large parts of the country have seen severe heatwaves.
Updated on May 03, 2022 12:18 PM IST
Number Theory: Why a minor deviation in April’s heat felt far hotter
According to IMD's own analysis until April 28, India's maximum temperature was the fourth highest since 1901, and 1.12 degrees above normal.

Updated on May 02, 2022 07:31 PM IST
Abhishek Jha, New Delhi
Grasping the challenges in India’s booster rollout
Only around 40% of people in the 12-15 years age group and 79% of those in the 15-18 years age group has received first doses (they became eligible for them on March 16 and January 3 respectively).

Updated on Apr 30, 2022 06:19 AM IST
Abhishek Jha, New Delhi, Hindustan Times
A look at where and why forest fires occur in summer season
How widespread are the summer fires? Where and why do they occur? How widespread are they in the current year? Here are four charts that answer these questions.

Updated on Apr 26, 2022 05:06 PM IST
Number Theory: March 2022 was oddly hot for the world, not just India
What makes this unusually warm March even more exceptional is that it followed long-term trends despite La Niña conditions. “At the global scale, the temperatures are rising regardless of the state of the tropical Pacific…,” said Gavin Schmidt, director of GISS.

Updated on Apr 22, 2022 10:06 AM IST
Number Theory: How hot has India’s April 2022 been so far?
March 2022 was the ninth hottest March in India since 1951 by average maximum temperature, according to India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) gridded temperature dataset.

Updated on Apr 20, 2022 03:07 PM IST
Abhishek Jha, New Delhi
Number Theory: The March of summer - A cool start with a hot end
An HT analysis of India Meteorological Department (IMD) data shows that this March was an ‘unusual’ month.

Updated on Apr 04, 2022 12:12 PM IST
Abhishek Jha, New Delhi
The March of summer: A cool start with a hot end
March 2022 saw heatwaves in various parts of India although it is only after the spring equinox on March 20 that the northern hemisphere starts heating up

Published on Apr 03, 2022 11:54 PM IST
Record night temp behind unusually hot, dry March
The hottest of days were not evenly spread across the month for either city, but instead occurred sporadically

Updated on Apr 01, 2022 12:10 PM IST
Data: Non-communicable disease deaths were rising pre-pandemic
The largest major group of diseases that caused deaths in 2015-17 were non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular or respiratory diseases, same as in 2014-16.

Published on Apr 01, 2022 12:11 AM IST
Abhishek Jha, New Delhi
Status check: Significant progress on Covid vaccination, but challenges remain
97% of the country’s adult population has received at least one shot of the Covid-19 vaccine by March 29 while 84% have received both shots

Updated on Mar 31, 2022 12:20 PM IST
How Uttar Pradesh performed in Yogi Adityanath’s first term
Yogi Adityanath of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the first chief minister of Uttar Pradesh to return to the position for a consecutive term after serving a full tenure

Updated on Mar 28, 2022 02:04 PM IST
, New Delhi
Abhishek Jha2 yrs since lockdown: Covid has changed how India moves, works, and consumes
- How stringent was India’s lockdown when it was first imposed, and what has been India’s unlock progress compared to the rest of the world?

Updated on Mar 24, 2022 11:24 AM IST
Abhishek Jha
Understanding the crisis plaguing the Congress
The Congress has been facing a decline in its fortunes for a much longer time, not just over the last decade or two when its vote share dropped below the 20% threshold for the first time in 2014, and later in 2019.

Updated on Mar 23, 2022 12:33 PM IST
Mid-March average temperatures closer to mid-April levels
An HT analysis of IMD data indicates that the average maximum temperature in the country has reached levels in March that were historically breached in mid-April.

Updated on Mar 22, 2022 12:17 PM IST
, New Delhi
Abhishek JhaExploring the limitations of class-based politics
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) achieved a comfortable victory over the Samajwadi Party (SP) in the recent Uttar Pradesh elections

Updated on Mar 22, 2022 12:11 PM IST
Number Theory: Rising mercury sets the stage for Holi in the heat
According to IMD's gridded temperature dataset, the average maximum temperature across India in the March 1 to March 15 period this year is 31 degrees Celsius. This is 0.7 degrees, or 2.3%, above normal, which is the average of temperature in 1981-2010.

Updated on Mar 18, 2022 05:38 AM IST
Size of rural families shrinks: Sample registration system report
The Total Fertility Level (TFR) – defined as the number of children a woman is expected to have in her reproductive age (15-49 years) – in rural and urban India in 2019 has been estimated to be 2.3 and 1.7

Updated on Mar 15, 2022 06:10 PM IST
, New Delhi
Abhishek JhaPunjab election: AAP tally biggest ever in the state
- In terms of vote share, AAP’s victory in the state is not that unprecedented. The Congress won 45% and 44% of total votes in 1980 and 1992.

Published on Mar 11, 2022 01:26 PM IST
The story in numbers: What’s the larger takeaway of the poll verdict
- The BJP went to this election cycle as the incumbent in four out of five states, and faced double anti-incumbency: it was in power in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa as well as the centre.

Published on Mar 11, 2022 09:52 AM IST
Roshan Kishore Abhishek Jha
In Manipur, BJP makes history with simple majority for the first time
Most of BJP’s gains have come at the cost of the Congress, which has finished fourth in terms of seat share, below the BJP, the NPEP and the Janata Dal (United)

Updated on Mar 11, 2022 01:02 AM IST
UP election result: Samajwadi Party vote share goes up but not enough
UP election result: Until exit poll results were announced on the evening of March 7, the Uttar Pradesh elections were described as a closely contested one by not just analysts but also senior political laeaders across parties (including some from the Bharatiya Janata Party).

Published on Mar 11, 2022 12:54 AM IST
Regional concerns continue to play important role in Goa
The continued importance of regional parties in the state can also be gauged from their performance within the alliances led by the Congress and Trinamool Congress.

Published on Mar 11, 2022 12:38 AM IST
, New Delhi
Abhishek JhaHow to read assembly election results today from the 5 states
Here are four charts that explain the larger takeaway of the assembly poll results that will be announced on Thursday

Updated on Mar 10, 2022 05:09 AM IST
, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Roshan Kishore and Abhishek Jha