-Down to Earth Schools, Anganwadis find it difficult to meet nutritional needs of children, mothers, as a result Schools and Anganwadi centres (AWC) are finding it difficult to effectively run programmes that address the nutritional needs of children and mothers. This is because the government has not revised costing norms for mid-day meals despite inflation, teachers and activists said. There is an urgent need to re-evaluate the cooking cost of programmes such as...

-The Telegraph The ministry’s drug policy section has advised Uttarakhand authorities to 'take necessary action' and submit an 'action taken report' New Delhi: The central ministry for traditional medicines has advised state authorities to “take necessary action” on complaints that Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved had allegedly promoted products for heart disease and liver disorders through illegal advertisements. The ayush (ayurveda, yoga, unani, siddha, homoeopathy) ministry has sought the withdrawal of  advertisements for certain Patanjali...

-SabrangIndia.in A lesson in leadership from the 74-year-old CPI (M) Politburo member whose heroic act helped diffuse a volatile situation from escalating  What should a leader of a major political party do, when a communally sensitive situation is brewing in a densely populated area of the city they live in? Visit the spot and try to calm the situation? Or perhaps communicate the legal status and court ruling that is crucial to...

-The Hindu ‘Healthcare as an optional public service’ would ensure the legal right to receive free, quality care in a public institution The lingering COVID-19 crisis is a good time to revive an issue that is, oddly, slow to come to life in India — universal health care (UHC). Meanwhile, UHC has become a well-accepted objective of public policy around the world. It has even been largely realised in many countries, not...

-TheCitizen.in Improved antenatal care in Meghalaya A recent report submitted on March 20 to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) from the state of Meghalaya showed that 877 newborns, and 61 pregnant women died during the pandemic. The pregnant women decided against hospital delivery out of fear of contracting Covid. A decade ago, infant mortality in Meghalaya was the same as the all-India average, at 47 deaths per 1000 births. While it has...