-The Guardian Higher disposable incomes, changing consumption patterns and the marketing might of powerful western brands are bringing fast food to India's children The camera pans in. The grins of smiling school children fill the frame. An enthusiastic teacher, played by a famous Bollywood actress, sits in the centre. The scene is a "remote picturesque setting". And all are munching happily on Domino's Pizza. The advert is typical of the marketing bombardment...

-The Hindu Veteran socialist Mrinal Gore, known for her dauntless activism on the issues of price rise, water rights and women’s empowerment, passed away following cardiac arrest at Vasai, Thane district on Tuesday. She was 84. “For the past 10 days she was at my house,” said daughter Anjali Vartak. “She had suffered a bronchitis attack and was on ventilator. She was feeling weak. She had fever too. Today [on Tuesday] she was...

-The Hindu Growing demand for male children, ‘same-caste’ surrogates   Unregulated fertility clinics indulge in medical malpractices, including physical and economical exploitation of women, a study has shown. Shockingly, preference for male children and demand for ‘same caste’ surrogates are prevalent in India. “Some couples, say about 5 per cent, who come to my clinic demand surrogates from their own caste,” says Nayna Patel, of the Akanksha Fertility Clinic in Anand, Gujarat that has come...

-The Hindu Fifty-two more local body representatives have resigned protesting ‘police atrocities and lack of development of the region,’ in the Korchi tehsil of Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra. The total number of resignations now stands at 218 in Korchi. “The list includes 27 sarpanchs, 27 deputy sarpanchs, 31 police patils and 133 gram panchayat members,” Nandkishor Vairagade, secretary of the Sarpanch Union of Korchi told The Hindu . “On June 29 Baiju Hidami,...

A cure for India’s health care ills is within reach provided there is political will In most developed — and many developing — countries today, a 12-year school education and universal health coverage (UHC) are the two primary responsibilities of the state. India has failed miserably on both counts. Let us look at some of the problems of medical and health care: • Fifty years ago, when there was no commercialisation of...