-The Economic Times   A day after the Work Bank marked out deficiencies in the country's public distribution system (PDS) for foodgrain, a senior government official has said that restricting public distribution to below poverty line (BPL) households has been a failure in India. "The mess in the public distribution system has been created by the notion that it is only meant for the poor. All problems of the current system are...

-DNA   Academicians in Goa have voiced their concern over the education department's arbitrary decision to implement a part of Right to Education (RTE) Act 2009 in the state which asks schools for mass promotion of students from first to eighth standard. Three major bodies -- Goa Headmasters Association (GHA), Goa School Managements Association (GSMA) and Nationalist Educational Institutions Management Association (NEIMA), have said that the circular needs to be withdrawn as...

Recently released data on infant deaths across states in India has thrown up surprising results, leaving health experts puzzled. Average infant mortality rate for the country as a whole stood at 50 in 2009, down by 30% compared to a decade ago. The rate is much higher than developed countries but the pace at which it is declining is encouraging. But the surprises lurk in state level data. Three states -...

Progress has been made on key MDG health targets, but non-infectious diseases have spread to developing countries The world is experiencing a change in the geographic distribution of diseases. Traditionally, infectious diseases, which claim the lives of so many children, have affected poor countries and non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, cardiac ailments and cancer, have plagued rich countries. But the latest statistics released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday show...

Napkins will be sold at subsidised price of Rs. 6 per pack Ensuring better menstrual health and hygiene Safe disposal of napkins at community level The Centre's ambitious and much-awaited scheme of making available subsidised sanitary napkins to adolescent girls in the age group of 10-19 years in rural India will be operational by August. As part of promotion of menstrual hygiene, the napkins will be sold to girls at a cost of Rs.6...