-The Telegraph The proliferation and sales of anti-diabetes combination pills that contain two drugs to control blood sugar has stirred concerns in medical circles that a large proportion of diabetes patients in India are not receiving ideal treatment. A study by Indian and British researchers has shown that such two-drug combo pills accounted for more than half of the sales of all oral anti-diabetes medications in India last year, although doctors say...

-The Business Standard Clause empowers both Central and state govts from their obligation to provide subsidised food in the event of war, flood, drought, fire, cyclone or earthquake The government included much-debated 'force majeure' clause in the Food Security Ordinance, despite opposition from civil socieity and a Parliamentary standing committee. However, the clause can now only be invoked if the Central government in consultation with the Planning Commission decides as to whether such...

-The Economic Times PUNE: After receiving a 32% above-average rainfall in June, the country is likely to get good rainfall in July too. According to IMD officials, the Madden-Julian Oscillations (MJO) has become favourable for the monsoon and will result in good rainfall from mid-July. This will benefit kharif crops, which have been sown early due to timely monsoon. D Shivanand Pai, head of IMD's long-range forecasting division, said, "The Madden-Julian Oscillation...

-The Hindu The government has come good on its promise to put in place a food security architecture but the manner in which it has pushed through the historic measure, which gives roughly 67 per cent of the population a legal right over cheap food grains, suggests it was done with an eye on the 2014 general election. The ordinance route is an extraordinary move, considered legitimate only in situations of...

-The Hindustan Times A couple of months ago, I was in South Block for a meeting at the ministry of defence. Security norms dictate leaving mobile and electronic devices at the checkpoint. Imagine my horror when I came back an hour later to see one of the guards going through my iPad. This cavalier attitude towards individual privacy is illustrative of an interesting dilemma between the inevitability of a more intrusive...