-Outlook In an attempt to name and shame rapists, the government has decided to prepare a data base of all rape convicts across the country and their photographs, names and addresses would be made public. Minister of State for Home R P N Singh said he has directed the National Crime Records Bureau to prepare a directory of all rape convicts and upload their photographs, names and addresses on its website. "We are...

-Outlook The Planning Commission today projected 8 per cent economic growth for the 12th Plan, but cautioned that "policy logjam" could slow the expansion to even as low as 5-5.5 per cent during the five year period. Moving away from previous practice of presenting single growth projection, the Planning Commission has come out with three different economic scenarios for 12th Five-Year Plan. "Growth outcomes will depend upon the extent to which we are...

-The Times of India The government is all set to crack the whip on India's shameful pharma-doctor nexus. The National Development Council (NDC), led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will meet on December 27 to discuss bringing a legislation requiring drug companies to mandatorily disclose payments made to doctors for research, consulting, lectures, travel and entertainment. Doctors involved in ghost writing to promote pharma products will also be disqualified. The official NDC document...

-PTI The Planning Commission has set a target for the Indian pharmaceutical industry to reach USD 100 billion by 2020 and account for 5 per cent share of the global drug industry in the next five years. According to the final draft for 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) by the panel, the objective of the sector will be to cross the USD 60 billion mark in 2017, which will be 5 per...

-The Economic Times The government is likely to miserably fall short of its rural electrification target for the current fiscal as most villages that were to be covered under the scheme are located in difficult terrains, making it difficult for the Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) to lay power lines there. Officials from Rural Electrification Corporation, the nodal agency for implementing the scheme, say many of the villages that were to be supplied...