-The Hindu Bidders asked for an extended deadline, says SHRC director The last date of submission of the much awaited bids for establishing private diagnostic centres in public health facilities of Chhattisgarh has been moved to February 10 from February 1. Explaining this change, J.P. Mishra, architect of the privatisation programme and State Health Resource Centre (SHRC) Director, an autonomous body that is overseeing the privatisation, told The Hindu that the bidders...

-The Hindu Unless the government regulates the growth of the private sector and makes it accountable, the worn-down public health infrastructure cannot be revitalised The absence of a well thought out policy framework for strengthening the health system is the most important issue facing the health sector in India. In the government, there is no clarity on what the nation’s health system should be 10 years hence. Should it be a public...

-Kafila.org This statement was put out by the RIGHT TO FOOD CAMPAIGN on 24 January The much awaited recommendations of the Standing Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution on the National Food Security Bill are a letdown to those who wrote to the Committee urging it to ensure justice to the people of India.  The Committee despite taking a year since December 2011 when the Bill was tabled in the...

-Economic and Political Weekly A cost-benefi t analysis by the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy of the benefits from Aadhaar integration with seven schemes throws up huge benefi ts that are based almost entirely on unrealistic assumptions. Further, the report does not take into account alternative technologies that could achieve the same or similar savings, possibly at lower cost. Reetika Khera (reetika.khera@gmail.com) is at the Institute of Economic Growth on...

-The Indian Express Having earlier changed the name of the course to accommodate doctors’ opposition, the Health Ministry has now asked the National Board of Examinations (NBE) to conduct the B.Sc (Community Health) programme, instead of the Medical Council of India (MCI) as was originally planned. The board, that organises post-graduate medical examinations, formally gave its approval Saturday. Under this programme, rural healthcare workers will receive training, a project the ministry has...