-The Hindu Business Line How the Indian State metamorphosed from protector of the poor to facilitator of the private health industry If there is correlation between two incidents of the Central Government announcing cuts in the health budget and dengue patients being refused treatment in Delhi’s private hospitals, it is rarely discussed in the ongoing media debate on the subject. A new collection of researched essays edited by public health scholar Imrana...

-The Hindu On Saturday, tur was selling at an average official rate of Rs.178 per kg and urad at Rs.154 per kg in retail markets. Still grappling with high prices of pulses, particularly tur and urad, the Centre on Saturday asked the States to make cheaper lentils available to consumers, particularly the vulnerable sections, through the Public Distribution System. It has asked the States to indicate their requirement of pulses for distribution through...

-Business Standard Chandigarh: The rising cost of fodder ingredients in the past few days has pushed the poultry industry into doldrums. An increase of the price of soya meal, a key ingredient, by almost Rs 1,000 per quintal, has left many small players worried. Against the cost of Rs 3 an egg, the farm gate price is between Rs 2.65 and Rs 2.70. P Tamil Arsan, vice-president of National Egg Co-ordination Committee...

-Frontline In Rajasthan, the abysmal state of school education has forced pupils, particularly girls, to come out in protest against the shortage of teachers and lack of infrastructure. IT was just over a year ago, on Gandhi Jayanti 2014, that girls of the senior secondary school of the town of Bhim in Rajasthan went on strike. The young, fresh-faced and neatly groomed girls were far removed from anyone’s idea of potentially rowdy...

-Frontline India’s forest cover has been steadily growing in recent years, with a steep rise in the extent of very dense forests, but the loss of over 20,000 sq km of moderately dense forests is a cause for concern. India’s forest cover has increased by 5,871 square kilometres from the government’s 2011 assessment to 6,97,898 sq km or 69.79 million hectares, according to the Indian State of Forest Report 2013 released...