-The Hindu A Planning Commission draft document has made proposals that fail to reflect the case for expanding and improving public-funded medical services and reining in private operators In the health sector, the buzz these days is all about Universal Health Care (UHC). While health activists see in it potential to ensure access to quality health care for common citizens, commercial bodies seem to be eyeing the huge scope for profit from...

-Outlook The Income Tax Department today said it is investigating cases of black money holders on the basis of information furnished by foreign countries and will initiate prosecution proceedings wherever required. The department has taken a similar action against those individuals who figured in the LGT bank accounts list. "These cases are spread across the length and breadth of the country according to the Assessing Officers (AO) having jurisdiction. "They (AO) are quasi-judicial authorities...

—AFP World farm production must rise 60 per cent by 2050 to meet the needs of a growing population but this has to happen in a “more sustainable way”, the U.N. food agency FAO and the oecd said on Wednesday. “It’s mostly going to be about productivity”, said Angel Gurria, head of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (oecd), at a press conference in Rome, explaining that farmland area would increase...

-The United Nations Higher demand for food due to population growth, urban migration and other factors will require countries to increase their productivity, according to a new report co-authored by the United Nations, which warns that without more supplies, prices will rise significantly. “Higher demand will be met increasingly by supplies that come to market at higher cost. With farmland area expected to expand only slightly in the coming decade, additional production...

-International Land Coalition   Rome, Italy - Information on land governance is critical factor for enabling developing and emerging economies to establish effective land tenure systems and ultimately ensure secure and equitable access to and control over land. To this end, the International Land Coalition, together with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), today announce the integration of information on land from FAO databases accessible through the Land...