Agitations show people don't want blind development Launches research centre on marine bio-diversity Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday criticised the country's “blind development plans” at the cost of ecological balance. “I am not against development but it should not be at the cost of our environment. We are presently following development plans blindly which can only lead to damage of the environment with ultimate impact on the...

India’s drug regulator has refused to disclose key information about a controversial government study that provided Indian girls a vaccine designed to protect them from cervical cancer, amplifying suspicions about the study’s objectives. The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has refused to release for public scrutiny the study’s protocols, which are expected to contain information about its purpose and methodology, a set of health activists said yesterday. The Union government had...

Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan on Wednesday announced that the scheme for supply of ration rice at Rs.2 a kg would be extended to all cardholders, including APL cardholders, subject to certain conditions. People with high incomes and landholdings would not be eligible. Briefing the media on the Cabinet decisions, the Chief Minister said the Cabinet had approved the recommendations of the Ninth Pay Revision Commission with changes proposed by the Cabinet...

“The Right to Information (RTI) Act is a very powerful tool to fight the cancer of corruption, which is eating away at the vitals of the country,” stated former judge PM Dhakephalkar. He was speaking at a discussion on ‘Corruption ridden India’, organised by Community Aid and Sponsorship Programme (Casp) Prabodhan Mandal at SP College on Sunday. Apart from Dhakephalkar, resident editor of Pune edition of DNA, Abhay Vaidya, former director general...

The three-member committee, set up to look into alleged irregularities in the conduct of studies on use of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine by PATH in India, has submitted its final report to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. This information was given to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare by Director-General of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) V. M. Katoch at a meeting here on...