-The Hindu The failure of successive governments in India, especially those in States that have the highest mortality rates among children younger than five years, to address the critical issue of training health-care providers in rural areas to correctly diagnose and treat children suffering from diarrhoea and pneumonia, has had tragic consequences. These ailments account for the maximum number of under-5 mortality incidence in the country. That the poor management...

-The Hindu Business Line The Subramanian panel report on environment regulation should not be accepted in a hurry Environmental governance in India is becoming increasingly contentious. Environmental quality is declining sharply on indicators such as air, water and forest cover. At the same time, there are calls for regulatory flexibility to enable pursuit of a "development agenda". One of the underlying reasons for the failure of environmental regulation has been the adhocism of...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: Leprosy may have disappeared from the state's health mandate, but there is compelling evidence that the infection is returning to the community. Though officially eliminated from the state ten years ago, last year leprosy infected over 16,400 people, 13% of them children. Also, the state accounted for 13% of the country's new leprosy cases. Statistics also reveal that 57% of the newly detected cases were multibacillary leprosy-an...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: A public health expert has questioned the Indian government's commitment to effectively tackling tuberculosis, citing slashed funds, late diagnoses and a failure to curb incorrect or inappropriate prescriptions by many private practitioners. India's plans to eliminate TB as a public health problem by 2050 will remain unachievable without sustained financial support, strong political will and stringent regulation, Mahavir Golechha has said. Golechha is a faculty member with the health...

-Tehelka The government has failed to implement the law and stop the use of ART for determining the sex of unborn children. On 14 February 2003, the term ‘pre-conception' was added to the title of the law that prohibited couples and doctors from determining the sex of an unborn child. The new version of the law came to be known as the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act. The amendment...