-The Times of India MUMBAI: Good cholesterol spells bad news for Mumbaikars. A new survey analyzing risk factors for heart diseases among Indians shows that 54% of Mumbaikars over 30 have low levels of good cholesterol, better known as HDL. Since HDL draws out the body's excess fatty cholesterol molecules and ejects them through the liver, Mumbaikars have a reason to worry. But it isn't only Mumbai. The survey found that across...

-The Telegraph The Planning Commission has accepted a proposal by scientists to create new academic centres for cognitive science, cyber security and other fields to be shared by scholars and faculty from universities across India. The proposal for inter- university centres (IUCs) is among key initiatives in science and technology planned during the 12th Five-Year Plan that covers the period up to 2017, K. Kasturirangan, a member of the Planning Commission, told...

Universities should not have to bow to research institutes, writes Debashis Gangopadhyay. Basic Sciences versus Applied Sciences Undermining humanities studies in schools will lead to a large number of science graduates in the market. This is a boon for multinational companies as profits will escalate — the cost of labour being lower. However, the danger to profits persist from another aspect. Students who study science out of their love for a subject are...

Bihar, which was synonymous with poverty, has emerged as the fastest growing state for the second year running, clocking a scorching 13.1% growth in 2011-12. Not just that, on the back of four years of double-digit growth, its economy is now bigger than that of Punjab—until recently the preferred destination of Bihari migrant workers. Among the top five states, Bihar is followed by Delhi and Puducherry. Mineral-rich Chhattisgarh, which many had...

-The Telegraph Over 10 crore tribal people who earn their living by selling minor forest produce can now look forward to a better deal. State governments and the Planning Commission have backed a proposal to fix a uniform minimum support price for 13 such items by an independent commission. The ministry of tribal affairs is likely to take up the proposal for setting up a National Minor Forest Produce Price Commission (NMFPPC) with...