The poor health indices and health care in rural India have always been met with lofty ideals sans action; they demand urgent and radical solutions.  The recent proposal to introduce a new medical course, Bachelor of Rural Health Care, has been met with resistance from many sections of the medical FRAternity. Its opponents argue that it will result in second-class health care for rural India and increase the rural-urban divide....

Even a decade after the horrific episode in which seven Dalits were burnt alive by “caste” Hindus in Kambalapalli village of Chintamani taluk in the then undivided Kolar district, 66 families of the victims are still struggling to lead a dignified life. The State Government, which relocated the 66 Dalit families at a new hamlet called Mini-Kambalapalli on the outskirts of Chintamani town, has not made good on its promises of...

From equity and livelihood perspectives, livestock rearing must be at the centre stage of poverty alleviation programmes.  Livestock rearing is a key livelihood and risk mitigation strategy for small and marginal farmers, particularly across the rain-fed regions of India. Livestock products comprised 32 per cent of the total value of agriculture and allied activities in 2006-07 which was a noticeable increase from 27 per cent in 1999-2000 and from 1980-81...

For nuclear plant at Jaitapur, only site clearance is granted Environment and development have to be balanced Reacting to reports on Monsanto's admission of pest resistance to its transgenic cotton, Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh on Saturday said the issue needed to be properly examined. The Minister said he had also seen an earlier report from the Central Institute for Cotton Research, Nagpur, which pointed out insect resistance...

Over 1,500 people comprising farmers, residents and activists who have been affected by the Bangalore-Mysore InFRAstructure Corridor Project around Bangalore, began their journey to the national capital from the City Railway Station on Sunday afternoon to voice their protest. For many, it is their first trip to New Delhi, and as a group, they felt they had a lot of opportunities to exchange ideas and develop bonds. Janata Dal (Secular)...