-The Economic Times India on Thursday voted in favour of a US-sponsored censure motion against Sri Lanka in the 47-member UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The government's domestic political compulsions seems to have prevailed over the country's strategic interests. Twenty-four countries, including India, voted for the resolution and 15 against, while eight nations abstained. Among the countries which voted against the resolution were China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Maldives. India's decision was...

-The Times of India While the government admitted Thursday in Parliament that foreign funding sources of NGOs active at Kudankulam were being probed, it refused to confirm if the money was being used to fuel protests against nuclear reactors being built there. Replying to a question in Rajya Sabha, minister of state in PMO V Narayanasamy said NGOs getting money from the US and Scandinavian countries were actively involved in the protests....

-The Telegraph Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may call a meeting of floor leaders of all parties in the Rajya Sabha on Friday to discuss amendments to the Lokpal bill that could not be passed after the midnight drama on the last day of the extended winter session. Sources said the government would not insist on the inclusion of a Lokayukta clause in the bill. The clause had become the main bone of...

India's decision this month to produce Germany-based multinational Bayer's anti-cancer drug Nexavar, in the first use of "compulsory licensing" in South Asia, will save lives but also raises intricate questions. Under the compulsory licensing process, a government can under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules bypass a patent owner's rights after three years and order the manufacture and sale of life-saving medicines at much cheaper cost than by obtaining the medicine from...

Montek Singh says he is willing to revise poverty estimates on the basis of expert opinion Though the incidence of poverty has come down over five years from 2004-05 to 2009-10, it is a startling fact that inequality has increased, with fewer people controlling income. Union Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia admitted on Tuesday that income distribution was not at the desired level and inequality increased in both rural and...