Scavengers, street vendors and other informal workers are falling further behind as the global economy recovers, amid rising competition from hordes of new working poor , a study released Wednesday said. A survey of people struggling in the so-called "informal job sector" in nine Asian, African and Latin American countries found they had largely missed out on the benefits of the rebound from the 2008 financial crisis. "Incomes have risen for some...

The National Advisory Council today won a victory over the government with Sonia Gandhi stressing the inclusion of eight “highly vulnerable” groups among the priority beneficiaries of the food security bill. Sources said the rural development ministry, headed by Vilasrao Deshmukh, had been resisting the panel’s recommendation for a new category of households that are “highly vulnerable to food insecurity”. The eight groups identified by Sonia are: “Particularly vulnerable” tribal groups; Mahadalits; Households headed by...

The latest iteration of the Mental Health Care Bill is expected to put strong checks on the use of electro-convulsive therapy (ECT), which is used rampantly in India. Popularly known as shock therapy, it involves administering precise electric shocks to the brain to stimulate specific nerve cells, to kick-start severely depressed patients. It has been demonised in movies like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest — the violent seizures, and...

"The anti-vaccine lobby in India is strong. But it is outrageous. India hasn't added a single new vaccine since 1985," billionaire-philanthropist Bill Gates told TOI in an interview. "I am a great believer in the power of vaccines. Thankfully, there is progress taking place in India now. The Union health ministry is planning to introduce the Hepatitis B vaccine, the second dose of measles vaccine and the pentavalent vaccine in two...

“Most common TB test is more than 125 years old; TB drugs are more than 40 years old” Microsoft chairman and philanthropist Bill Gates on Thursday said the large number of deaths in the world due to tuberculosis was unacceptable and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was all for supporting a low-cost affordable vaccine for the disease. “Whatever helps the poorest, we are committed to it,'' Mr. Gates said at...