-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...

Petition  seeks comprehensive policy on production, supply and sale of Healthy, hygienic and natural milk The Supreme Court on May 9 sought a response from the apex food body, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), and the states regarding milk adulteration and production of synthetic milk. The three-judge bench sought their response on the public interest petition filed by Swami Achyutanand Tirth on behalf of the Swami Bhumanand...

Bench asks government to reach out to the women, think of an immediate alternative The Supreme Court on Wednesday set up a seven-member committee to look into the deplorable conditions of “widows/destitutes” living in Vrindavan and set an eight-week deadline to complete its report. The committee, headed by the chairman of the Mathura District Legal Services Authority, will prepare a list of the widows with their names, age and reasons for being...

-PTI German pharma major Bayer has charged that Indian generic drugmaker Cipla had breached its patent rights by slashing the price of a generic version of its patent-protected cancer drug Nexavar last week. Bayer Pharma has not given its consent to Cipla to launch its generic Sorafenib (sold under the brand name Nexavar) and the company’s decision to cut the price of the life-extending kidney and liver cancer drug “is a clear...

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...