-The Hindu Only voluntary rural service for medicos The State government has abolished the Compulsory Rural Service (CRS) for medical students, the provision which had led to a series of agitations by medicos in the past few years. In a Government Order dated October 8, the government has done away with the CRS and replaced it with Voluntary Rural Service (VRS). The order has also conceded the demand for allowing onetime maternity benefits for...

-The Hindu In response to my recent article in The Hindu, “The real questions from Kudankulam” (edit page, September 14, 2012), supporting nuclear power and arguing for an independent regulatory authority, I received much feedback, largely positive, some critical; some of which deserves a response. Many of these points have been made by others, repeatedly, but some are new to me. 1) Independent oversight: Two credible people said that I was too...

-The Hindu Continued self-education is indispensable to honing the skills of lawyers in emerging areas of practice and to their social relevance in a changing world The Indian legal profession has grown over a short period of less than 50 years to become the world’s largest and most influential in the governance of the country. At the same time, it reflects the diversity of Indian society, its caste structure, inequalities and urbanised...

-The Hindu Based on ground-level report of the 7-member AERB teams carrying scrutiny at the plant The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) on Thursday said the fuel loading at the first 1000 MWe unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) had not yet begun owing to last minute checks. The AERB would give the final clearance for fuel loading only after a review of the ground-level report of its seven-member team carrying...

-The Hindu The Planning Commission’s draft 12th Plan for health has attracted much debate and controversy. Critics have been quick to direct their attention at two issues in it — the proposed increase in government health spending from one per cent to 1.58 per cent of GDP, and the “managed care model.” The spending increase was rightly felt to be grossly inadequate to move India towards achieving universal health care. The...