-The Hindu If the Indian government is serious about its commitment to realise the rights of its citizens to universal and equitable health care, it cannot ignore rare diseases. The draft National Health Policy, 2015, makes no mention of them Rare diseases are a diverse set of over 7,000 different conditions that afflict an estimated 1 in 20 Indians and 350 million people worldwide. Put simply, it means that every bus on...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: A host of eminent citizens, including jurists, police officers, scientists and businessmen, have appealed to the Chief Justice of India and other judges of the Supreme Court to take sou motu action over "alarming and threatening" statements made by ministers and elected representatives, including the alleged 'hate' speech by junior HRD minister Ram Shankar Katheria. The signatories to the letter, submitted to the Supreme Court on...

-The Hindu The ruling party is doing its best to establish that being critical of its government is tantamount to being anti-national. It is not just the inconvenient person or collective being intimidated; the Constitution is under attack. “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act” — George Orwell The controlled voice of Ravish Kumar on a blackened screen and his stark report on NDTV India on February 19...

-Hindustan Times New Delhi: It’s quite possible that in this Parliament session, India will make the transition from being a wasteful welfare state to a reformed economy that allocates scarce resources efficiently. The Modi government on Thursday introduced the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016. When signed into law, the bill will make Aadhaar -- the unique biometric identification number -- central to all social...

-The Indian Express NEW DELHI: A proposal to increase the representation of women in urban local bodies from the present 33% to 50% was under consideration, the government said on Thursday. "Ministry of urban development has informed that the government is considering a proposal for increasing representation of women in urban local bodies from the present 33% to 50% through an amendment to Article 243T of the Constitution," women and child development...