-The Telegraph The Centre has made it mandatory for clinics as well as radiology and diagnostic centres to register ultrasound tests of all pregnant women through an online form. The requirement under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technique (PNDT) Act is part of efforts to curb female foeticide. The decision to track all pregnancies — from conception to birth — was taken at a recent meeting of the central supervisory board (CSB), a...

-The Times of India GUWAHATI: The death toll in the ongoing ethnic clash between Bodo and Bengali speaking Muslims in the Bodo heartland in Kokrajhar district since Friday, rose to 20 as additional central paramilitary forces from different parts of the country are on their way to the troubled area. Over 50, 000 people belonging to both the communities have been affected in the spate of violence so far. The population of...

-The Telegraph The Union government today announced contingency measures, including the rollout of alternative crops and additional power for irrigation, in response to the persistently poor monsoon rainfall. The crop area sown this year is about 8 million hectares lower than last year but agrometeorology experts say the cumulative area sown with rice can be determined only around early August. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed various ministries to co-ordinate their efforts with...

Supreme Court wants hazardous waste rules aligned with Basel Convention THE Supreme Court has directed the Centre to ban the import of hazardous waste. While hearing a 17-year-old case, the court also asked the government to amend the existing laws pertaining to toxic waste so that they comply with the Basel Convention, an international treaty that prohibits transboundary movement of toxic waste. India ratified the Convention in 1992. The court gave the...

-The Times of India The bloody and systematic attack on the senior management at Maruti's Manesar plant may have been the result of Naxal influence, according to sources within the government. Intelligence agencies have been asked to investigate whether Maoists are infiltrating trade unions in the Gurgaon-Manesar belt, which has witnessed serious labour trouble in the past few years, added the sources. The agencies are looking at a couple of trade unions...