Health care in India, at its finest, matches the standards of international best practice. The knowledge, skill and confidence of its doctors and nurses, the sophistication of available technology, quality of service and five-star hospitality compete with the best in the world. Its relatively low cost has made it an important player in the health tourism sector. However, at the other extreme, publicly funded health care services often do not...

Environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan landed in Durban on Sunday ahead of the high-level climate talks to hammer out a decision that only the political heads of 195 countries can take - a compromise that would ensure Kyoto Protocol remains alive and that the world signals readiness to discuss a new legally binding deal for all in future. This political decision would be the master key to a success at Durban. India...

Aruna Roy-led National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) has criticized the exclusion of lower bureaucracy from the draft Lokpal bill terming it as a loss for the common man. It has also demanded that the CBI should be brought out of the administrative control of the government for it to be effective in tackling corruption. The activists have echoed concerns already raised by Team Anna which has demanded...

Seek adequate compensation from Carbide, Dow Chemical On the 27th anniversary of the Bhopal gas tragedy on Saturday, victims and survivors, still waiting for relief, will register their protest by launching an indefinite rail roko andolan (stop trains). “On December 3, please don't travel by train. Change your reservations now. We are sorry to cause you inconvenience but stopping the trains is the only effective way we can think of to get...

Conceding a major Team Anna demand, the parliamentary committee examining the Lokpal Bill has decided to recommend that 57 lakh "Group C" central government employees - or the entire lower bureaucracy - be placed within the ambit of the anti-corruption ombudsman.  In a controversial decision, the panel also decided to exclude the prime minister from the Lokpal's jurisdiction as long as he holds office. This was at its final meeting to...