-Economic and Political Weekly The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has made public the National Health Policy 2015 Draft for discussion. The draft is more exhaustive and better organised in its coverage compared to the National Health Policy of 2002. It touches upon contemporary issues of concern, including the rapid emergence of chronic non-communicable diseases. From the latest available evidence, issues crucial to tackling chronic illness in India are discussed. Subrata...

-DNA Talking about her late son Sampatrao, Gayabai's voice breaks. "He was cleaning a well to increase its depth and width. Suddenly, the manual lift that was carrying the boulders and mud from the well fell on his head. He succumbed to his injury even before reaching the hospital," she says. Gayabai Murkute (75) lost her son Sampatrao (45) in an accident three years ago. Same year the rain stopped falling. Her...

-Business Standard Study on reservation in schools New Delhi: The Delhi government recently ordered all nurseries, playschools and pre-primary schools, set up on land allotted by the government, to reserve 25 per cent of seats for poor students. This is in continuation of a 2007 order of the then government directing 395 private schools to reserve 20 per cent of new admissions for poor students. The decision to reserve seats in such bastions...

-The Hindu When Sreenivasan took up farming, the thumb rule was that pesticides would not be used Kochi: As we go about farming the fields using fertilisers and pesticides, who’s tending the dense and diverse vegetation in forests — which have more fruit-bearing trees and edible roots? The question by Subhash Palekar, noted propounder of zero-budget farming, got actor Sreenivasan thinking about modern farming practices. “Everything that’s there to nurture vegetables and fruits...

-The Indian Express Villagers in Chikalthana say not more than one in every 20 wells in the vicinity has any water left. Not a single farmer in the village will earn anything from the field this kharif season. Parbhani/ Beed (Maharashtra): This summer, Meera Jadhav, 18, secured a first division in her Class XII board exams. Weeks later, her younger sister Suvarna, 16, got her Class X final results — over...