The Prime Minister-appointed panel on Food and Public Distribution System (F&PDS) headed by Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia has suggested that the current system of distributing PDS foodgrain per household should be replaced with per capita allocation. According to National Sample Survey (NSS) data, lower income households have more members per family than higher income households, the panel has said in its draft report. Justifying its suggestion as a “progressive...
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India puts tight leash on internet free speech
Free speech advocates and Internet users are protesting new Indian regulations restricting Web content that, among other things, can be considered "disparaging," "harassing," "blasphemous" or "hateful." The new rules, quietly issued by the country's Department of Information Technology earlier this month and only now attracting attention, allow officials and private citizens to demand that Internet sites and service providers remove content they consider objectionable on the basis of a long list...
More »The Perils of Endosulfan
As the stage is set for the crucial meeting of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP), a global regime to protect human health and the environment from dangerous chemicals, to be held in Geneva from April 25, a showdown between the Centre and Kerala has been underway. In the meeting with an all-party delegation from Kerala, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has reiterated the position taken by Union ministers...
More »'India's poverty declined to 32%'
India's poverty is estimated to have declined to 32 per cent in 2009-10 from 37.2 per cent five years ago, as per preliminary findings of the Planning Commission. The estimates are based on the formula suggested by the Tendulkar Committee for computing the number of poor in the country. "2009-10 data show a decline in poverty from 37.2 per cent in 2004-05 to 32 per cent in 2009-10 as the per the...
More »Gene card to tell what drugs to avoid by GS Mudur
Scientists have launched a project to develop India’s first personal genetic data cards — credit card-sized plastic-and-magnetic devices that could dramatically expand access to personalised predictive medicine. In its first phase, the project will capture genetic data to predict a person’s likely response to more than 100 drugs to help him avoid taking medicines that may not benefit him or may cause him serious side-effects. Scientists also hope to use genetic data...
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