-The Times of India Some good news for consumers might be at hand. You would soon be able to find the most affordable alternative to the medicine prescribed by your doctor through an SMS-based service. The service, expected to be launched by the government in August, will be available throughout the country. Here is how it works: Once the person sends a text message of the prescribed brand of drug to a...

-The Economic Times It's not just the drug regulator, where a parliamentary panel has alleged corruption, failing in its job. Drug regulation across entities that dot this broad landscape is in poor health and ineffective. In May, when a Parliamentary panel, during a routine examination of healthcare regulatory bodies, alleged corruption in the approval of new drugs, it was merely pointing out one symptom. Such symptoms pervade the entire drug regulation landscape,...

The government plans to roll out a nationwide free medicine scheme by November, which will offer quality essential drugs to all the patients in state-run hospitals and treatment centres, a senior health ministry official said. LC Goyal, additional secretary in the ministry of health and family welfare, said the scheme would offer 348 essential drugs as well as their combinations to patients. These drugs account for about 28 per cent of...

-The Hindustan Times There is a widespread perception of policy paralysis in the corridors of power. The two remaining years of the UPA's term is still not too short to reverse the current drift, but time is rapidly running out. The damaged economy needs urgent fixing as does restoring the credibility of an executive racked by scandals and the absence of a sense of direction. The people of the country long...

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA)'s plan to introduce a Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism for 13 items of minor forest produce (MFP) has been approved by the Planning Commission. Sources in the Ministry told The Hindu that a detailed financial proposal would be sent to the Expenditure Finance Committee of the Finance Ministry by June 7 after which it would go to the Cabinet. Union Minister Kishore Chandra Deo, who...