Stavudine disfigures, affects peripheral nervous system permanently THE National AIDS Control Organisation in November procured in bulk anti-HIV drug stavudine, which is being phased out worldwide. NACO officials unofficially cite funds crunch for depending on the low-cost drug. Stavudine requires less monitoring of patients, they say. NACO provides free treatment to HIV/AIDS patients in the country. In 2010, the WHO had revised its HIV/AIDS treatment protocol and recommended countries to phase out...

While some may view the food security Bill as the instrument of combating poverty, this distinction belongs to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the flagship anti-poverty programme of the United Progressive Alliance government. The proponents of the food security Bill at the National Advisory Council have promoted it as the instrument of fighting widespread and rising hunger, instead. But what is the empirical basis of the claims of widespread and...

A 75-year old in Delhi goes door to door collecting unused medicines. Omkar Nath takes his entire collection to NGOs and hospitals that work for the poor. At 75, Omkar has a booming voice and a strong will. No wonder that many have named him as the Medicine Baba and eagerly wait for his arrival as they have been doing for the past four years. A Delhi resident Col Devender Singh said,...

U.P.'s GDP grew at 7.28 per cent in the past five years, but the State ranks low in virtually every area of socio-economic development. IF statistics on gross domestic product (GDP) are the only criteria to evaluate the performance of a government, the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government in Uttar Pradesh will have to be rated as one with highly impressive credentials. For, India's most populous State has recorded a...

-BBC   Inequality in earnings has doubled in India over the past two decades, a new report says, making it one of the worst performers among emerging economies. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says the top 10% of wage-earners make 12 times more than the bottom 10%, compared to six times 20 years ago. The OECD says India has the highest number of poor in the world. Some 42% of its 1.21...