Vitamin D deficiency on the rise; tests to identify it inaccurate AIR-CONDITIONED homes and offices and AC vehicles with dark glasses that protect from UV rays are now integral parts of our lifestyle. But by avoiding sunlight by using sunscreens and umbrellas one denies the body an important nutrient—vitamin D. All forms of life exposed to sunlight can produce this vitamin, which plays a vital role in the growth and maintenance of...

-The Telegraph The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has unequivocally endorsed and welcomed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s stand against anti-Kudankulam protesters and described it as “unusually forthright and strong”. An editorial in the latest issue of the Organiser, the Sangh’s official mouthpiece, claimed it was the first publication to spotlight the “devious” role played by the Church in spearheading the protests against the stalled Tamil Nadu nuclear power plant. The reference was to two earlier...

  MGNREGA, which entitles millions of workers enrolled under it to at least Rs 100 a day for 100 days of work in a year, is undergoing an overhaul based on a set of recommendations of a committee headed by the Planning Commission member Mihir Shah.   Encapsulated in The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 - Operational Guidelines 2012 in what is being called “MGNREGA 2.0”, the recommendations aim for...

India moved a step closer to implementing cash transfers of direct subsidies and social welfare payments after a high-level panel presented the blueprint for effecting it through an Aadhaar-based payment gateway. Accepting the report, which details how all payments and cash transfers can be made electronically, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee indicated that it will be the key to plug leakages and ensure more targeted spending under the government’s social welfare programmes. The...

While welcoming the report of the High Level Expert Group on Universal Health Coverage for India for its comprehensive vision and many well-conceived recommendations, this article focuses on the conditions needed for its promise to bear fruit. Towards this, it explores the political dimension, which comprises the forces and interests that come into play to shape and reconfigure administrative policy and its implementation.   We are grateful to Anand Zachariah and Susie...