Download Assam, a state in northeast India, has the highest maternal mortality rate in the country.

The lack of medical infrastructure is one of the main reasons why.

Over three million people in Assam live on islands around the Brahmaputra River, which flows across the state.

For many islanders, boat clinics – a joint NGO and government initiative – are the only means of healthcare.

Asia Calling’s Gayatri Parameswaran and Felix Gaedtke stepped on deck in Assam.

Download India is home to the largest number of hungry people in the world.

Every day, nearly five thousand children die because of malnutrition.

Two recent surveys have brought renewed focus on the fight against malnutrition in the world’s second most populous nation.

Bismillah Geelani has the story.

Download India has now become the world's biggest arms importer, replacing its neighbour China in the top slot as it works to replace its ageing military hardware.

But corruption scams plaguing the defence forces involving middlemen in the procurement process are a serious cause for concern.

Murali Krishnan has the repot from Radio Australia.

Download India’s Constitution prohibits children younger than 14 from working in hazardous jobs.

But official records estimate over 20 million children work across the country.

Plenty of employers see them as cheap labour – and many children don’t have a clue about their rights.

Now children in the south can learn about that from Bhima Sangha: a union of, by and for working children.

The organisation Concerned for Working Children, based in southern Karnataka state, helped form the children’s union – the first one in Asia.

Felix Gaedtke and Gayatri Parameswaran travel to the state capital Bangalore to find out more.