-The Hindu ‘Most cancer deaths are preventable if detected early' Contrary to the perception that cancer mortality is higher in urban areas, a recent study published in The Lancet said the death rate is similar in both urban and rural areas. The study, pointing to an interpretation that literacy can prevent cancer deaths, said mortality rates were two times higher in the least-educated than in the most-educated adults. Conducted between 2001 and 2003 —...

-The Telegraph   The urban development ministry is miffed at the budget allocation for the urban renewal mission and has told the House standing committee it would not “sit quietly” but fight for more funds from the finance ministry. The aggressive posture comes despite the poor progress of the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission, with only 127 of the 555 projects under its first phase completed by the deadline of March 31, 2012. A...

-PTI   Spiralling international oil prices have put a strain on the country's import bill Stating that India faces "formidable" challenges on the energy front, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said spiralling international oil prices have put a strain on the country's import bill and domestic prices need to be rationalised. "With imports accounting for about 80% of our crude supplies, the spiralling prices of crude in the international market have put a...

-Express News Service Chandigarh: Making it clear that the Right to Education (RTE) Act will have an overriding effect on all other regulations on the reservation of seats for the economically weaker sections (EWS), the Punjab and Haryana High Court has told the private schools to comply with the RTE Act and the latest Supreme Court judgment on the Act. Disposing of a bunch of petitions filed by private schools challenging various...

But non-farm income keeps economy afloat   New Delhi, April 25: The rural growth story is slowly losing sheen because of inflation and rising input costs. In fact, rural price level is higher than urban price level. The March Consumer Price Index number for rural India stood at 116.3, while that for urban India stood at 114.6. Mr Ajay Sriram, Chairman and Senior Managing Director, DCM Sriram Consolidated Ltd, says the rural growth...