Differently-abled children can join any school Parliament passed the Right of Children to Free and compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2012, with the Lok Sabha passing the measure on Wednesday, thereby providing for an integrated education process which would allow differently-abled children in the age group 6-14 the right of admission to any school. Replying to a discussion on the Bill, which the Rajya Sabha had passed earlier, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil...

The debate about essential-medicine pricing and access in India illustrates the difficulties inherent in establishing policies that serve conflicting public interests in achieving goals such as caring well and ensuring safety for all, while also pursuing financially-sustainable success in scientific innovation and trade. It highlights problems facing those interested in continuing drug and vaccines development and ensuring that, once marketed, such products contribute effectively to improving public health. Modern pharmaceuticals...

-PTI Senior IAS officer Pradeep Shukla was today detained here and questioned by the CBI in connection with the multi-crore National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam. A 1981-batch IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, 55-year-old Shukla was detained while on his way to the airport, official sources said, adding the CBI had repeatedly summoned him to appear before the agency for questioning. Though CBI officially maintained that he had neither been detained...

A report by a parliamentary committee has shown that the drug industry regulator, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), has been approving, on average, one new drug a month without conducting mandatory clinical trials or seeking expert medical opinion—findings that expose the deep flaws prevalent in India’s drug approval process. The committee has asked the health ministry to withdraw the discretionary powers given to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization...

-IANS The Rajya Sabha Tuesday took up the issue of drought-like situation in several parts of the country, with opposition members demanding immediate action as well as long term plan for tackling this natural calamity. Raising a calling attention motion on the drought-like situation in Karnataka, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader M. Venkaiah Naidu slammed the government for its "lax" and "insensitive" attitude towards the issue even as crops in Karnataka have...