-The Telegraph A nationwide association of doctors has called on its members to observe a strike on June 25 to protest against several government initiatives, including a move to improve quality standards in clinics and hospitals. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) is opposing the implementation of the Clinical Establishment Act that imposes certain minimum standards for infrastructure, space, equipment, and qualified paramedical staff on clinics, nursing homes, and hospitals. Senior IMA executives said...

-The Economic Times One of the most heartwarming films of 2011 centred on a child labourer who fitted in exceedingly well with his wealthier classmates at school. While a nasty teacher drives the child out of school in the celluloid imagining, in real life, a nasty education system threatens to drive such kids from the country's elite schools.  Among the most jarring arguments against a clause in the Right to Education (RTE)...

Now that the SC has upheld the 25 per cent clause, Centre and states must work on implementation Now that the Supreme Court has upheld the constitutional validity of reservation of 25 per cent of admissions at the entry-level in private unaided schools for disadvantaged sections, focus should shift to the implementation of this provision. The Right to Education Act stipulates that private unaided schools “shall be reimbursed expenditure so incurred...

The Conflict of Interest Bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha is a welcome step to control the grey areas in which “public private partnerships” are conducted. AMONG the many things that have proliferated in the economic boom of the brash new India is conflict of interest. So widespread, comprehensive and many-tentacled has this feature become that it is often no longer even recognised to exist, much less to be a...

The World of Work 2012 report presents a bleak picture of the global job situation. FOUR years after the global crisis erupted in 2008, organisations such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) believe that labour markets still have not fully recovered. The world economy is not expected to grow at a sufficient pace over the next couple of years to overcome the crisis. These organisations present some depressing facts: those...