-Down to Earth Poor, elderly not able to match fingerprints on system, not getting food grain as a result Thousands of poor villagers have been pushed to the brink of starvation in Bihar as the biometric system installed to curb leakages in the public distribution system (PDS) is proving to be the stumbling block on their way. The Food and Consumer Protection Department in the state has made it mandatory for use of...

-The Hindu Lockdowns alone can’t be effective unless combined with other health measures, says the WHO Chief Scientist. Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist at the World Health Organisation, tells The Hindu in an interview that the fight against COVID-19 is likely to be long-term, and lockdowns alone cannot be effective unless combined with other public health measures. Dr. Swaminathan, who has worked in research on tuberculosis and HIV for 30 years, was...

-The Telegraph Search for treatment insights India plans to create a Database of detailed case records of patients with the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) from public and private hospitals across the country to gain fresh insights into myriad factors that might have influenced their treatment outcomes. A National Task Force for Covid-19 has asked a 10-member medical panel to establish a patients’ Database to enable doctors to understand better why a small proportion...

-Business Standard State govts are failing to realise that farmers, landowners are much more aware of the actual market value of their land and about the legal provisions related to consent and rehabilitation etc Independent researcher Kumar Sambhav, who has co-founded Land Conflict Watch - the first and largest Database of ongoing land conflicts in India - tells Aditi Phadnis that while India has enacted laws to protect the rights of marginalised...

-The Hindu The absence of playgrounds and electricity in govt. schools speaks poorly of policy priorities It should rank as an irony that as a founder-leader of the International Solar Alliance, India has not yet electrified a significant number of government schools, while extolling the elegance and virtue of photovoltaic electricity to the rest of the world. The lack of power in schools is taken note of by the Parliamentary Standing Committee...